Girl Math is a trend popularized on TikTok that refers to the justification of frivolous spending. While it may seem funny, some are applying the logic to their own financial habits and its worrying experts.
Not only is it leaning into the harmful trope that women are irresponsible with money, but it also reveals that some young adults are experiencing financial arrested development.
“Girl Math is just the latest iteration of us trying to rationalize financial behaviors that we know we shouldn’t be doing,” Brad Klontz, a psychologist and financial advisor, said in an interview with CNBC.
Women have historically been painted as less knowledgable than men when it comes to financial literacy, and their pay reflects it.
For instanceBlack woman make 67 cents for every dollar a white male makes, they are less likely to ask for raises on their jobs and are significantly more conservative when investing in capital markets, which lead to lower returns as compared to men.
As Fortune points out, personal finance influencer Haley Sacks highlights how the trend can play into bolstering the inequity.
“While I get that it’s meant to be funny, stereotypes like this impact behavior,” Sacks stated in an Instagram post. “It just solidifies a tired, dangerous narrative. Just another example of how differently men and women are spoken to about money in the media!”
“Men are told to invest and grow wealth. Women are told we are dumb and can’t be trusted to secure or manage a bag,” she added. “Even if it’s meant to be funny, this messaging seeps into how we view ourselves. And it’s going viral.”