NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley’s ‘girl maths’ swept the internet - say hello to boy maths

NZ Herald
3 Oct, 2023 02:26 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

ZM's Hayley Sproull's girl maths was mocked by Australian podcast host Relatable, hosted by Ottie Clarke (pictured) and Jake Craig. Photo / TikTok, Instagram

ZM's Hayley Sproull's girl maths was mocked by Australian podcast host Relatable, hosted by Ottie Clarke (pictured) and Jake Craig. Photo / TikTok, Instagram

You’ve heard about ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley’s ‘girl maths’, but get ready for boy maths.

It’s taking the TikTok world by storm, and instead of using “maths” to justify their purchases like girl maths does, it instead justifies their actions.

After many women received mockery from men for incorporating girl maths into their everyday lives, they have hit back by creating “boy maths”, which seemingly mocks men for day-to-day life miscalculations or problematic behaviour.

One example used on X (formerly Twitter) read, “Boy math is being 5′10 but rounding it up to 6′0.”

Boy math is being surprised that Taylor Swift’s net worth is 25x more than Travis Kelce.

— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) September 27, 2023
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Other examples can be more brutal, including one shared on the social media platform which read, “Boy math is being scared that women are gonna use you for money that you don’t have.”

Another said, “Boy math is being surprised that Taylor Swift’s net worth is 25x more than Travis Kelce.”

“Boy math is thinking that calling a woman ‘fatherless’ is an insult to women and not the men that failed their families”, a fourth read.

Boy math is needing 15 attempts to count the votes correctly to become Speaker and then shutting down the government 9 months later

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 27, 2023

The trend has even caught the attention of some high-power women, including US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted: “Boy math is needing 15 attempts to count the votes correctly to become Speaker and then shutting down the government nine months later”.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Earlier this year, girl maths, coined by the three radio hosts, went viral on the video-sharing app after they created a segment which saw people call up with shopping dilemmas and the hosts using girl maths to come up with a solution.

@fvhzm

If you’re asking us the price of a good sleep? #itsbasicallyfree 🤪 Let us know if you need help with some #GirlMath 🫡

♬ original sound - FVHZM

An example of the equation is if an online shop offers a customer free shipping for purchases over $100, girl maths is spending $110 on products instead of $70 so you don’t “waste” $8 on shipping.

Other examples of girl maths include buying nice or expensive things because they are an investment - if you don’t buy a coffee on a day you usually would, then you’ve saved money. A more light-hearted example has been used on TikTok: “Anything under $5 is basically free.”

At the time of the trend going viral, many men reacted to the calculations and used it as an opportunity to mock women’s ability to manage money.

Australian podcast Relatable, hosted by Ottie Clarke and Jake Craig, called out the trend, poking fun at it in a TikTok video that has been viewed over 20 million times.

Reading out examples of girl maths, the two men would laugh and joke in reaction, saying they “can’t deal” with it.

Examples of girl maths are going viral. Photo / TikTok
Examples of girl maths are going viral. Photo / TikTok

“If I don’t buy a beverage today, I’m making money,” Clarke said, with Craig replying, “What the f**k, bro?”

Another example Clarke read out was, “If I don’t spend any money today, I’ve doubled the budget for tomorrow.”

Craig responds, “I can’t deal with this.”

Despite the mockery, the trend remains popular on TikTok, with thousands of videos created using the tag equating to more than 726.9 million views.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle

Josh Emett and the eclair that became an icon

Premium
Lifestyle

‘They come at you’: The grandmothers playing rough at a kids’ sport

17 Jun 06:00 AM
World

How often you should be cleaning your toilet, according to experts

17 Jun 12:12 AM

Sponsored: Embrace the senses

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Josh Emett and the eclair that became an icon

Josh Emett and the eclair that became an icon

It’s been an Onslow signature menu item since day one. Now, Josh Emett’s famous crayfish eclair has clawed its way into the Iconic Auckland Eats Top 100 list. Video / Alyse Wright

Premium
‘They come at you’: The grandmothers playing rough at a kids’ sport

‘They come at you’: The grandmothers playing rough at a kids’ sport

17 Jun 06:00 AM
How often you should be cleaning your toilet, according to experts

How often you should be cleaning your toilet, according to experts

17 Jun 12:12 AM
Premium
‘I’ve given up asking’: Why so many midlifers are struggling with sexless marriages

‘I’ve given up asking’: Why so many midlifers are struggling with sexless marriages

16 Jun 11:52 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP