Boy Math and Girl Math are next up in a list of gender-segregated trends that have been blowing up online in 2023. Hot on the heels of the somewhat divisive Girl Dinner discourse that took place earlier this year, the categories of Boy Math and Girl Math are being used to joke about the different ways in which men and women tend to calculate and prioritize things in their lives.

But a trend that began with jokes about the way some women justify frivolous expenses and quips about some men exaggerating their height online turned into a vicious joke cycle about the dark underbelly of what "Boy Math" can really be. Here's the meme explained.

Where Do The Phrases 'Girl Math' and 'Boy Math' Come From?

Inspired by the internet popularity of "Girl Dinner," TikToker @samjamessssss posted a video about "Girl Math" in August 2023. She joked about the wonky math some women use to justify their purchases, saying "anything under five dollars feels free" and "if you return an item for $50 and then spend $100 on another item, it's like only spending $50." The trend basically showed women joking about the ways in which they prioritize their expenses.

@samjamessssss just girl things #girldinner #girlmath ♬ original sound – samjamess

The earliest known use of the term "Boy Math" was a post by X user @BowTieBernard, who joked about how some men think buying items in bulk saves money in the long term.

Why Did 'Girl Math' and 'Boy Math' Cause Controversy Online?

In September 2023, many men began joking about "Girl Math" online, with some people making off-color jokes at the expense of women. While "Girl Math" began as a way for women to joke about the way they spend their money, many men on the internet began weighing in with their own, often misinformed, opinions.

But women online did not take lightly to their inside jokes being ridiculed by people who barely understood them. Soon after "girl math" discourse blew up on the wrong side of the internet, women began making cutting remarks about what often constitutes "boy math."

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For the full history of Boy Math / Girl Math, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.