A new trend has been circulating the internet, humoring users all over social media. Purchases have been justified in other ways before, but “girl math” is a new term for women, or anyone, to justify their purchasing habits.
Essentially, “girl math” was created and popularized by women, mostly on TikTok. According to Forbes, the trend originated last August, initially coined by TikToker @samejamessssss.
An example of this coined phrase would be saying concert tickets are “free” because they were purchased three months ago.
Students at Ohio University were evidently not immune to the phenomenon and shared their definitions and explanations of what they believe to be considered “girl math.”
Maggie Morgan, a sixth-year studying computer science and engineering, said she sees “girl math” as a form of justification.
“My definition of girl math is putting a sort of fundamental idea that has stability on it like mathematical equations, onto things that don't necessarily make sense to help someone kind of understand something more,” Morgan said.
“Girl math” is circulated as the idea of girls using the term to make an excuse for their purchases, but Morgan believes the opposite. Morgan believes “girl math” is a way for girls to feel more solidified with their purchases.
Morgan gave an example of how she uses the method. She said she especially uses the method when it comes to getting coffee at Frontroom in Baker University Center.
“I use 'girl math' all the time, especially with Frontroom.” Morgan said. “Whenever I get a coffee, I order it online. But if I go (online), and I see that I have a free drink, I get that. (Then) I'm like, 'OK, since I got a free drink, that means I can buy an expensive meal because my drink was free. So now I can use the money that I was going to use for my drink to go buy something $20 more than my drink.'”
Morgan said she also believes "girl math" does not always refer to finances because she uses the method when it comes to time. An example she provided was if she sat at her desk for 30 minutes, then she could give herself a five-minute break to be on her phone.
Chastity Frizzell, a sophomore studying music education, gave some examples of her methods of using “girl math.”
“'Girl math' to me is when I’m about to get paid and I go buy something, and I know I’m getting paid for it, it is basically free,” Frizzell said.
Frizzell said another example of "girl math" is how cash is not “real money” because it is not put toward her normal budget.
“I’m a babysitter,” Frizzell said. “So, I get paid in a lot of cash and I don’t normally put that on my budget. So, therefore, it’s basically free.”
Frizzell also gave a similar example to Morgan, where “girl math” does not always mean financials. Frizell said in the morning, she normally wakes up early to wash her face. But on the days when she does not wash her face, she uses that extra 15 minutes to gain more sleep and considers this method part of “girl math.”
Dawson Buchwald, a junior studying contemporary music and digital instruments, gave his definition of “girl math” from a different gendered perspective.
“I would say it’s math,” Buchwald said. “But it’s math done by a woman.”
When asked to provide an example of what he believes is “girl math” he used his personal shopping experiences to try to it compare to what “girl math” is.
“I bought these pants at Marshall's, and if there was a sale for two for the same price, I would still buy them at full price and not even think about it,” Buchwald said. “I think that would be OK because it is still a sale. As long as you think you are saving money, then you can pretend that you are.”
Buchwald said that women do use the "girl-math” method based on his experiences shopping with his mom and grandma. He said it happens every time the price tag hits their eyes.
Morgan and Frizzell both said they don’t believe men understand the method of "girl math" because it is geared more toward women and their spending habits rather than men’s.
“Men can hardly understand anything (about women) in my opinion,” Morgan said. “If it is not a theory, a theorem or an idea that is introduced by a man at some point in history, a man is not going to believe it.”
“I mean, they’re men,” Frizzell said. “It’s called ‘girl math’ not ‘man math.’”
Buchwald would agree to disagree with the statements of men not understanding "girl math."
“I think there's a lot about women we don't understand,” Buchwald said. “I think especially when normal concepts are taken and then prefaced with the word ‘girl’ I think we get confused. Like I still can't really tell you what 'girl dinner' is, but I hear about it every day.”
Some women have used “girl math” as an opportunity to validate the stereotype of women being bad at math or managing their financials. The term “boy math” has even been used in response to the stereotypes of “girl math.” Overall, many see “girl math” as a silly way of justifying purchases to reward themselves.
“We’ve used 'girl math' our entire lives,” Morgan said. “We just finally have a word for it.”
