"Girl Math, Boy Math": The Presence of Toxic Masculinity in TikTok and X Jargon
Abstract
Jargon or slang words have become a norm in everyday online discourses and conversations, with a recent emergence of gendered terminology classifying activities and fashion aesthetics into a type of “girl” or “boy”, both heavily popularized thanks to social media. A notable example is seen in the recent rise of gendered-specific jokes called “girl math”, which is a comedy created by women on the justification of impulse shopping. This phenomenon began to give way to its counterpart called “boy math”. Initially, mockery on male behavior began to expand into the areas of critiquing toxic masculinity and misogyny in society as a whole. Through sampling data from accounts that receive high traction from using such terms on the platforms of X and TikTok, the researcher is interested in conducting an intertextual research using the framework of appraisal and feminist theory in order to elucidate the linguistic nuances and cultural influences stored within these gender-specific terms, ultimately unveiling how they critique male hegemony. This research is hoped to contribute to furthering the understanding of how technology, social media, and language intersect, shaping both learning environments and societal perceptions of gender roles.
Keywords: X, TikTok, appraisal theory, language evaluation, misogyny, toxic masculinity
References
[1] Boyd DM, Ellison NB. Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 2008;13(1):210-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
[2] Kaplan AM, Haenlein M. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons. 2010;53(1):59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
[3] Kapoor KK, Tamilmani K, Rana NP, Patil P, Dwivedi YK, Nerur S. Advances in social media research: Past, present and future. Information Systems Frontiers. 2018;20(3):531-558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-017-9810-y
[4] Asur S, Huberman BA. Predicting the future with social media. 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology [Internet]; 2010 Mar. Toronto, ON, Canada: IEEE. p. 492-499. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/WI-IAT.2010.63
[5] Kietzmann JH, Hermkens K, McCarthy IP, Silvestre BS. Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons. 2011;54(3):241-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005
[6] Gangi PMD, Wasko MM. Social media engagement theory: Exploring the influence of user engagement on social media usage. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing ( JOEUC). 2016;28(2):53-73. https://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.2016040104
[7] Lai LS, To WM. Content analysis of social media: A grounded theory approach. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research. 2015;16(2):138-152.
[8] Shushkevich E. Misogyny detection in social media on the twitter platform [Doctoral dissertation]. Dublin: Technological University Dublin; 2020.
[9] Ging D, Siapera E. Special issue on online misogyny. Feminist Media Studies. 2018;18(4):515-524. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447345
[10] Dafaure M. Memes, trolls and the manosphere: Mapping the manifold expressions of antifeminism and misogyny online. European Journal of English Studies. 2022;26(2):236-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2022.2091299
[11] Salgado S, Bobba G. News on events and social media: A comparative analysis of Facebook users’ reactions. Journalism Studies. 2019;20(15):2258-2276. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1586566
[12] Hendriks H, Putte BVd, Gebhardt WA, Moreno MA. Social drinking on social media: Content analysis of the social aspects of alcohol-related posts on Facebook and Instagram. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2018;20(6):e9355. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.9355
[13] Koch T, Gerber C, De KJJ. The impact of social media on recruitment: Are you Linkedin? SA Journal of Human Resource Management. 2018;16(1):1-14. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v16i0.861
[14] Bruns A, Stieglitz S. Towards more systematic Twitter analysis: Metrics for tweeting activities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 2013;16(2):91-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.756095
[15] Börner K, Maru JT, Goldstone RL. The simultaneous evolution of author and paper networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2004;101(suppl_1):5266-5273. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0307625100
[16] Crane R, Sornette D. Robust dynamic classes revealed by measuring the response function of a social system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2008;105(41):15649-15653. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803685105
[17] Zhang L, Zhao J, Xu K. Who creates trends in online social media: The crowd or opinion leaders? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 2016;21(1):1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12145
[18] SocialBee. What are social media trends? Social media marketing definitions [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Oct 22]. Available from: https://socialbee.com/glossary/socialmedia- trends/
[19] Know Your Meme. Boy math / girl math [Internet]. 2023 Sep 24 [cited 2023 Nov 6]. Available from: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boy-math-girl-math#fn1
[20] Samjamess [@samjamessssss]. I love that we’re all loving girl math so much. If you’re still confused it’s essentially fun logic [Internet]. 2023 Aug 5 [cited 2023 Nov 3]. Available from: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNDQT7Xw/
[21] Barbarin I. Girl math is essentially the recognition that time, convenience, and money are interchangeable currencies [Internet]. 2023 Sep [cited 2023 Nov 3]. Available from: https://twitter.com/Imani_Barbarin/status/1706058471546695858
[22] Willingham A. ‘Girl math’ was a fun social media joke. Then it got complicated [Internet]. 2023 Oct 7 [cited 2023 Nov 2]. Available from: https://edition.Cnn.Com/2023/10/07/us/girl-math-boy-social-media-cec/index.Html
[23] Cohen D. Girl math and boy math, explained [Internet]. 2023 Sep 28 [cited 2023 Nov 5]. Available from: https://www.thecut.com/2023/09/girl-math-boy-mathexplained. html.
[24] Burt Z. Why girl math is a toxic trend [Internet]. 2023 Oct 18 [cited 2023 Nov 5]. Available from: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-girl-math-toxic-tiktok-trend- 2023-10
[25] Tolapopi [@shinathagoat]. Girl math is going on vacation with 8 friends and coming back with 3 [Internet]. 2023 Sep 26 [cited 2023 Oct 23]. Available from: https://twitter.com/shinathagoat/status/1706701380218478694
[26] Leishman R. Girls using boy math to roast men [Internet]. 2023 Sep 7 [cited 2023 Oct 22]. Available from: https://www.Themarysue.Com/girls-using-boy-math-to-roastmen/
[27] MacKenzie A. Constructing postdigital research. Jandric P, MacKenzie A, Knox J, editors. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland; 2023. A feminist postdigital analysis of misogyny, patriarchy and violence against women and girls online; p. 275-294.
[28] Frejsjö GW, Birgersson N. Unpacking representations of masculinity in the digital age: A case study of andrew tate’s tiktok presence [Thesis]. Swèdhen: Karlstad University; 2023.
[29] Tranchese A, Sugiura L. “I don’t hate all women, just those stuckup bitches”: How incels and mainstream pornography speak the same extreme language of misogyny. Violence Against Women. 2021;27(14):2709-2734. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801221996453
[30] Demopoulos A. ’Can’t we have a funny joke?’ Why #girlmath is dividing tiktok [Internet]. 2023 Sep 28 [cited 2023 Nov 5]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/28/girl-math-tiktok-jokewomen- sexism.
[31] Martin JR, White PRR. The language of evaluation. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK; 2005.
[32] Halliday MAK, Matthiessen CMIM. Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar. New York: Routledge; 2004.
[33] Harrington C. What is “toxic masculinity” and why does it matter? Men and Masculinities. 2021;24(2):345-352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20943254
[34] Waling A. Problematising ‘toxic’ and ‘healthy’ masculinity for addressing gender inequalities. Australian Feminist Studies. 2019;34(101):362-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2019.1679021
[35] Connell RW. Gender and power. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 1987.
[36] Anderson E. Orthodox and inclusive masculinity: Competing masculinities among heterosexual men in a feminized terrain. Sociological Perspectives. 2005;48(3):337- 355. https://doi.org/10.1525/sop.2005.48.3.337
[37] McGlashan M, Mercer J. Toxic masculinity: Men, meaning, and digital media. USA: Routledge; 2023.
[38] Kupers TA. Toxic masculinity as a barrier to mental health treatment in prison. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2005;61(6):713-724. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20105
[39] Allan JA. Masculinity as cruel optimism. Norma. 2017;13(3-4):175-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2017.1312949
[40] Berlant L. Cruel optimism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press; 2011.
[41] Berg B. Boy math is when he slept with at least 30 girls, but if you’ve slept with more than two, you’re [Internet]. 2023 Sep 28 [cited 2023 Nov 4]. Available from: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNDQnxsw/.
[42] Berg B. Boy math is you asking for one little thing and him going the whole nine yards. You’re like “i don’t [Internet]. 2023 Nov 3 [cited 2023 Sep 28]. Available from: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNDQwW14/.
[43] Samjamess [@samjamessssss]. I know we’ve been talking a lot about girl dinner. But i really think we should focus our attention on [Internet]. 2023 Aug 3 [cited Nov 3 2023]. Available from: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNDQsCj1/.
[44] Полина [@pravdapolina]. Boy math is saying “i don’t need a woman with a career” but then holding her lack of finances over [Internet]. 2023 Sep 29 [cited 2023 Nov 3]. Available from: https://twitter.com/pravdapolina/status/1707494372017611161.
[45] Полина [@pravdapolina]. Boy math is also saying how men are greatest friends to each other unlike those nasty catty female friendships, but [Internet]. 2023 Oct 25 [cited 2023 Nov 3]. Available from: https://twitter.com/pravdapolina/status/1716895343449878768.
[46] Xile [@XileniaM]. Girl math is getting ready at 7 so i can be out by 10 pm [Internet]. 2023 Oct 7 [cited 2023 Nov 7]. Available from: https://twitter.com/XileniaM/status/1715473773095206946.
[47] Xile [@XileniaM]. Girl math is going to the gym before getting ur hair done only to have to shower again [Internet]. 2023 Sep 30 [cited 2023 Nov 3]. Available from: https://twitter.com/XileniaM/status/1707893164336353506.
[48] Colman AM. A dictionary of psychology. UK: Oxford University Press; 2015.