Damn it! Sometimes your children put you right, they fill you in on the current trends that tend to bypass the older brain, especially when I am not across many social network platforms.
The other day, in idle chit chat, I explained one of my stories to one of my offspring. It was my rant a week or so ago against the prejudiced use of the term “girl maths”. She reacted with a frown, a querulous expression and then a look of surprised recognition.
Of course, there is girl maths, nodded daughter’s head. “ What was your problem?” Oh dear, here I was thinking I had instilled feminism and anti-discrimination into my offspring’s head and she was espousing the exact opposite!
Please explain
Please explain came my retort, afraid of what I would hear. Another female family member, just a few years older than daughter number two, having listened to the conversation, also joined in the explanation. It seems that this is a common phrase and description of behaviour on TikTok (which is why I had no idea about it at all). Thus, proving my dinosaur status and general redundancy.
The two women then filled me in on examples. The first example was the use of simple maths to justify a purchase. Buying an item of clothing that you know you will wear at least twenty times becomes a very cheap item once you have divided it by twenty. Hence the $200 coat worn twenty times really only costs $10. Cheap really and almost free! Girl Maths evidently!
The next example was when you buy something online and then decide to return it. The money that comes back into your account is free money! able to be spent with no guilt or qualms at all. Mmm, I think I am getting the hang of this.
The next example was when you load money on an app, then eventually spending that money doesn’t count at all. If you buy something less than $5 then it is actually free. It doesn’t count either.
The last gobsmacking one that the offspring revealed was that if you pay with cash then the product is free. I think it has something to do with the balance in your bank account remaining the same, but this was where either my patience or my logic blew a gasket.
What the heck! Why did I spend a small fortune on my children’s education for them to spout this nonsense.
Inane thinking
Now I know we all rationalise our behaviours to some extent, be that with money or with other things. We do this to allay guilt, to justify purchases, to explain away our impulsive behaviours. People have complex and weird relationships with money, just ask anyone married or in a partnership where their significant other spends their hard-earned cash.
Of course, I am going to blame TikTok for this inane line of thinking, for pushing both a totally irrational way of dealing with money and for maligning girls in the process.
Why isn’t this mathematical juggling act called “boy maths?” I’m sure there are boys out there doing the same piece of insane rationalisation in their head, but this is never put forward. The behaviour is always landed at the feet of the female, further embedding stereotypes and spreading and reinforcing gender prejudices.
I don’t want my two granddaughters to spout this crazy way of thinking as “girl maths”. Let’s call it what it is – stupidity and leave the gender out of it. For goodness sake, the head of our Reserve Bank is a female and I am sure she doesn’t handle the nation’s money with such a cavalier and illogical attitude towards maths and money. Go figure.
What do you think of this trend? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
Also read: How can we make women safer? It starts in the classroom
The article is an example of the present day addiction to gender identity crises, created by women with similar addiction to any ‘identity crisis’. Gender addiction by and for women as the victim is, and has been, embellished and locked into our Social format for at least half of my 78 years.
Easily evident examples are eduction, University attendance qualifications and employment ‘quota’ applications and appointments. In education the deference directed against males, particularly ‘white males’, is commenced. Male children attending our education systems must ask themselves why am I one of those – ‘white males’. We can look at the present example of 78 year old white males. University qualification outcomes have similar equity, with entrance to Universities having a present rate in the order of 60% female and 40% male. Reversed figures would get serious attention. And let’s not mention such appointments as your example, of Leader of the Reserve Bank, along with virtual quotas for appointment to Parliament, both State or Federal.
I have no doubt that to pick on particular aged kids, to imply a feral adult misguidance, reflects a basic character fault. A feature that is (has) disappearing from our Social fabric. We should also never defect from the Major World Wars, Vietnam, Afghanistan. All of which the lopsided life contributions is applicable to you know who.
Ray