![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/girl-maths68446-f730.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
From girl dinner to hot girl walks, the TikTok girlies are appropriating just about any mundane thing and making it cute.<\/p>\n
The latest trend to get a girly makeover is maths, like, as in, numbers, formulas and equations.<\/p>\n
\u2018Girl Math\u2019 is essentially the logic people often use to justify their spending.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paid in cash? It\u2019s basically free.<\/p>\n
That manicure cost \u00a350 but it\u2019s going to last three weeks? That\u2019s only \u00a32.40 a day.<\/p>\n
Got money back after returning some clothes? That\u2019s a profit \u2014 spend it how you want.<\/p>\n
Pls dont take this seriously lol #girlmath #money #greenscreen #pgda <\/p>\n
On the surface, Girl Math is nothing more than another fun TikTok trend, but, as with most \u2018girl\u2019 trends, there\u2019s a sinister undertone.<\/p>\n
Personal finance expert Ellie Austin-Williams, 31, went as far as to say the trend is actually \u2018infantilising\u2019 women, who don\u2019t need to justify how they choose to spend their own money.<\/p>\n
\u2018Women are pictured as shopaholic \u2013\u00a0irresponsible with money,\u2019 she told The Tab.<\/p>\n
\u2018And by jumping on this trend with Girl Math, it\u2019s basically the modern version of \u201coh we\u2019re so silly with money! We can\u2019t manage our money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018We need to move away from that.\u00a0We are very capable women, and we can manage our money and make financial decisions and we don\u2019t owe it to anybody to justify them.\u2019<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s true that Girl Math simply isn\u2019t that serious, it only really works as a joke if everyone is in on it.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, not everybody gets it, and, in the wrong hands, what should be a lighthearted joke for <\/em>women can quickly become a nasty joke about <\/em>women.<\/p>\n Girl maths !! #fyp <\/p>\n As Austin-Williams noted, the fact women even feel the need to dissect and justify their spending in such a way is a problem in and of itself.<\/p>\n As long as we\u2019re financially secure, we can spend our money on whatever we please, and just because something is considered feminine, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s also frivolous.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fact that Girl Math is somewhat nonsensical also plays into the idea that women simply don\u2019t understand finances and economics \u2014 a belief that arguably still holds us back in terms of reaching equality.<\/p>\n Boys are still more likely to study maths and statistics than girls in sixth form as well as university, and boys tend to perform better due to maths being an exam-heavy subject.<\/p>\n Everyone uses fun calculations to make themselves feel better about their spending habits, but labelling this as inherently feminine is damaging, not just because it ignores the fact that men definitely do this too, but because it plays into the idea that women just don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n Why should we get to hold the purse strings if we\u2019re going to spend an extra \u00a330 just to qualify for free delivery? Maybe we shouldn\u2019t have access to our own bank accounts after all.<\/p>\n Yawn.<\/p>\n