Brutal ‘Boy Math’ Meme Skewers Men's Illogical Reasoning For Problematic Behavior

Elyse Wanshel
·5 min read

The common denominator here is that women are funny … and frustrated with misogyny.

A new meme dubbed “boy math” has taken over X, formerly Twitter, in the past week. The meme is a very pointed response to men who criticized a lighthearted meme called “girl math.” 

Last month, “girl math” went viral after a 28-year-old TikToker named Samantha Jane poked fun at herself for the way she justified some of her purchases.

“I got a Starbucks today that was $4.90, [but] anything under $5 feels like it’s pretty much free. Girl math,” she says in her TikTok. ”[If I] return something at Zara for $50 [and] bought something else for $100, it only cost me $50. Girl math.” 

Jane’s self-aware skewering of the mental gymnastics she uses to explain her overspending struck a chord with other women, who began posting their own takes on “girl math.”

Yet, once the “girl math” trend took off, some men saw it as an opportunity to begin attacking women for frivolous spending instead of appreciating a meme about rationales gone awry.

In response to the hate, some women began a new meme called “boy math” in retaliation.

Although “boy math” posts sometimes also involve numbers, they have generally taken on a more cutting tone by emphasizing the ridiculous ways some men rationalize being hypocritical, sexist, entitled and emotionally immature.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) even used the meme to take a dig or two at House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

In short, the “boy math” meme is pretty brutal, and many online are loving how women flipped the script on men who took the “girl math” meme way too seriously.

So, ladies, if there’s a man in your life whose explanations sound more like excuses, grab some yummy artisanal popcorn you definitely paid too much for and scroll on down.