Why we're REAL-ing from Roughriders "Girl Math" Problem
The Saskatchewan Roughriders used a ‘girl math’ advertisement in an email to season ticket holders. Saskatchewan Roughriders
We’re still REAL-ing (pun intended), and yet another organization has released gendered marketing that has (not surprisingly) fallen short.
And here’s the thing… we’re not being dramatic or sensitive. We believe in empowering women and girls to use their voices, amplifying the voices of other like-minded groups and causes and using our platform to speak up to ignite meaningful change for the women of today and tomorrow. So that means when we see, hear or experience something, we say something.
“If you want to insult a woman, call her a [bitch]. If you want to insult a man, call him a woman.” - Amanda Montell in “Wordslut”
Why is this ad problematic?
Established by TikToker Samantha Jane, the “Girl Math” trend was created by women FOR women. It’s made to satirize our own experiences and reclaim stereotypes. Why? Because women have traditionally been left out of financial decisions, and gender biases still exist that women are not as suitable for work and jobs where math is a requirement, so when Samantha Jane coined "girl math," it encouraged women to GET IN on the joke.
But then in strolls in a typical beer-in-hand-watermelon-on-head masculine brand personality for a male football team. They see the trend, jump on the bandwagon, and all of a sudden, it feels ick. It drives home the sexist, misogynistic undertones of sports advertising and reaffirms that this team doesn’t think women “fit in” with their regular fans, so they need stereotypical advertising that speaks “women’s language” to get our attention.
But here’s the thing: Almost every word in the English language used to describe women has been tainted by some form of obscenity at one time or another. (If you want a history lesson on that, read “Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language” by Amanda Montell). Every aspect of our communication—our vocabulary, our tone, our sentence structure, our use of slang—constantly sends invisible cues that inform others about our identity and how to treat us. And in a time of women’s history when the Professional Women’s Hockey League is smashing records, Caitlin Clark is destroying men’s scoring records, and even Taylor Swift attending Kansas City Chiefs games “has effectively generated an additional $331.5m in brand value for the Chiefs and NFL,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders took a step waayyyyy back to let people know that they think women are only interested in sports for the matching outfits and opportunity to have a “guilt-free” cocktail.
But what about the term “Girl Math”? Isn’t using the word “girl” derogatory?
While Samantha Jane may not have directly referenced the Third Wave of Feminism from the 90s when she coined the now viral term, the historical context is evident. (And we can all agree that everything in pop culture and media right now is inspired by the 90s.)
In 1991, Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna wrote in the Riot Grrrl Manifesto:
“BECAUSE doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism, able-bodieism, ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-semitism and heterosexism figures in our own lives. BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.”
If women choose to be called girls, it’s their choice. It was a reclamation. It still is a reclamation. This is why we don’t have an issue with the “Girl Math” trend as its own: because we’re women, and we’re IN on the joke. Get it?
Intent vs. Impact
We had a chance to chat with Jacqueline Hurlbert, Director, Marketing & Fan Engagement (Interim), for the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club, about this issue, public perception and lessons learned. We heard they intended to try a trend and land with a different demographic segment. Jacqueline explained that their majority female organization–50% women in the organization and an 80% women marketing team–view their brand persona as gender-neutral since so many women work for the brand internally and have a voice in how the brand presents itself. She noted that women too frequently consume sports advertising targeted to male consumers, and the marketing team wanted to flip the script. But it fell short.
How is the public supposed to know the brand persona for that typical beer-in-hand-watermelon-on-head male football team is supposed to be gender neutral? Why are they gendering their advertising so blatantly? We’re at least thankful the ad wasn’t pink! But we need to avoid gender stereotypes that women are only attracted to and relate to certain slang, word choices or colours–ahem, pink razors–and remember the intersectionality of women, their experiences, and that they can, in fact, enjoy watching a football game and drinking a beer without thinking about the calories.
So what? Now what?
It’s been almost one year since REAL released its “Experience Regina” tourism rebranding campaign, making a mockery of female anatomy and glamourizing rape culture, and the community is still healing from this. Despite this massive community setback in global reputation, it feels like another one of the largest brands representing our community and province did not fully hear and integrate the learnings and the public’s feedback into their communications. Making women or equity-deserving people (or any of the intersections in between) the butt of jokes or perpetuating hurtful stereotypes that deepen unconscious biases, frankly, isn’t funny. It hurts brands, customers, and communities. Just because something is trendy doesn’t mean it’s inclusive.
In keeping the big picture in mind, let’s ensure that each component of our intention is in check: Words can hurt or heal. Unite, or divide. Each word choice can dismantle or retain the status quo. Inclusive communication avoids stereotypes, subtle discrimination and negative or judgmental messaging. When we ensure alignment in word choices, we’re motivated to foster inclusion and belonging, and we have a process to usher in the change we KNOW we can be.
This is, in fact, strike two for our city. Our community, our city, our fans and our province deserve better. It’s time to be mindful of inclusivity in our communications, branding and marketing. It’s time to take actionable change and consider inclusivity training. This is our challenge to employers and brands in our province.
If you need support in this area, we’re happy to help.