Imagining a World Where Paris Hilton Loves Mathematics

Abstract

This article is a conceptual piece which explores what it might be like to incorporate marketing theory and notions of cool into the realm of mathematics education in an attempt to elicit mathematical enthusiasm from a specific subset of the female population who often self-select out of mathematics despite their high mathematical aptitude. Focusing on girls from Toronto, Canada, who generally see themselves as part of the mainstream culture, this article speculates as to how these girls understand their relationship to mathematics. The central purpose of this research is to understand whether these girls choose not to pursue mathematics beyond the compulsory level because they are selecting courses to construct their identity on the basis of cool, using the same evaluation process they would when selecting products. Drawing extensively on literature and participant data, this article presents a novel perspective with which to view female disinterest in mathematics. Grounding the empirical data atop the theoretical brings to life the interconnection of perspectives of scholars like Walkerdine, Mendick, Demetriou and Gladwell, illustrating how femininity, consumerism and mathematics are interwoven into the very fabric of our socially constructed reality. This article argues that treating mathematics as a consumer good and marketing it accordingly might give rise to increased mathematical participation and enthusiasm by this particular segment of girls, who rely on identity marketing for many of their consumption decisions.