According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Math is defined as “the study of numbers, shapes, and space using reason and usually a special system of symbols and rules for organizing them”. This definition projects a very lengthy history of mathematics that does not have an ending point because mathematics always evolves as a science. The history it projects reminds us of the ancestors of mathematics, mainly the Ancient Greeks and Archimedes. This definition, as you can notice, does not in any way project a biological gender nor does it define boundaries for who can or cannot study math. But, I do not believe that it was pure coincidence that one of the most famous female mathematicians in the world, Hypatia, suffered murder at the hands of men who were the biggest supporters of sexism at the time. It was a great shock for the times then, for a woman, who also became the leader of the Neoplatonist School of Philosophy in Alexandria, to have developed her education to an extent where she could develop sciences and mathematical topics, like her development of a more efficient long division method.

Men could not handle that a woman at that time was capable enough to race with them or excel in a field dominated by men. Thus, they wanted to drown that success and everybody who achieved it, especially women. This set a precedent for inequality in the sciences early on. The issue I am trying to present is that imbalance between the two genders has always existed in the sciences and we have come a long way thus far, but apparently there are little challenges and trends that set us back.

Last year I published an article on the trend of women publishing “their version of the female Roman Empire” online and how that drastically differed from women asking their male partners or friends, “How often do you think of the Roman Empire?”. This was portrayed as a biological gender inequality issue. From one side you ask men a masculine-appearing question because it, apparently, portrays strength. On the other hand, you ask women for their friends because you expect them not to even know this historical issue. This created a trend where men would actually answer with the frequency they thought of the Roman Empire or the effects of it and women were expected to answer with the death of Princess Diana or the 12 Greek Gods that are equally important in a “female mind”. Even if women followed the trend and answered the question, it does not necessarily mean the absence of a certain degree of sexism.

Over the past year, we have seen a rise in the trend of “girl math”. Even if you are not active on social media platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok or X, you may have encountered a person, most likely a woman, saying, “This is girl maths”. A simple example is a woman buying a really expensive blouse or bag for about 1,000 AED and then explaining that if she wears it 100 times it will cost her 10 AED each time she wears it, which in comparison to the actual value of the item you pay once, you will not have to pay each time you wear it. As a woman, I have fallen victim to “girl mathing”. But it is not as straightforward as it seems. It seems like a lighthearted joke about women feminizing math for their own personal gain in order to avoid certain financial costs for flights, clothing items. or even flowers for their dorm (which might seem as expensive if you pay 150 AED on a Monday but they will only last you until the next Monday if you are lucky, and then you split it and find it logical). This might seem innocent and from my perspective, it honestly is, but what are the consequences of this “Math”?

You can ask how this impacts our thought process as a society, and I will answer that in the short term, no massive disruption appears to be taking place. In the long term, however, I guarantee that all of these trends made for the young generation of social media users, realizing the historical divide between the two genders, will create chaos. Trends like “girl maths” or the “female version of the Roman Empire” will heavily influence the train of thought young girls and boys follow, and it will become socially accepted for the two biological genders to remain split up into two categories. One category entails people who are academically smart and have valid knowledge, and the other category believes silly ideas about the world and are naive about their finances.

This generation may be generating innocent trends, but can you imagine what young people who view these trends think, and how are they to act in response? They will follow them and accept them without thinking twice because “what is trending is right” and they will not think a second more of what a trend sets as an example. Social media creates a “barrier of thought”. It creates a small paradise where everything can seem fun because it is taking place online and does not seem to be serious, but who questions what is behind it? No one. That is why we, as young adults, have to use our power to influence the media positively and actually prevent such small trends from arising or cautiously participating while acknowledging how they create a separation between the two genders (like a trigger warning, unfortunately).

Now we have to ask ourselves, Why don't boy maths exist?

I will tell you that the aspect of the issue is of inherent sexism because from the question posed, a male version of math does not need to be presented because math is already serious and sophisticated, and therefore automatically equated with the male gender by society. It is not the time when I say that it is the other way around and women should be the immediate equation, but the time when I ask, why should there even be an equation? Do men not have their version of silly math or is it just an issue of how society automatically creates trends that downcast the female gender? For now, “girl math” may not be an immediate or direct threat to gender equality, but it has to make us think about why all these gender equations exist and how we as a society participate in them innocently without second-guessing their nature. You can choose to participate cautiously, but do not forget what you signed up for! This might be a long-term noncancellable subscription.