It started quietly, the faint hum of Clario in the background of a gym vlog, a blurry shot of We Should All Be Feminists on a coffee table, and a man in overly baggy jeans sipping matcha with a particular manner that could only be represented as “emotionally intelligent.”
Whether or not he understands the feminist theme… if it wasn’t obvious enough, it’s totally up for debate.
Long ago, just before this term didn’t even dare to shimmer into existence, a certain genre of men discovered the power of saying “men should do better” on their Instagram stories.
This interestingly intoxicating pandemic could only be described as the loud, strategically tender era of the performative male.
He supposedly listens to Jeff Buckley to prove he has feelings, claims that “‘500 Days of Summer’” is the greatest piece of cinema, and collects Labubus, those adorable, relatively haunted figurines that scream “I have a personality now, please ask for my number!”
These are not genuine interests, of course, more as staged props in his own social identity showcase.
And then there is the matcha.. the whisking of such being slow, mediative, and filmed from at least several different angles. For him, matcha is not just a beverage. It is a personality!
Mornings will range from a shot of a book he may or may not even understand, to a cryptic tweet like “healing takes time” posted precisely six minutes after ghosting someone.
Yet the real highlight of the movement is the so-called ‘Performative Male Contest.” These satirical events are held in any city, just as long as obnoxiously bright ring lights and Beabadoobee vinyls are bound to be plentiful.
Winners receive small, “underground” brand sponsorships, artsy tote bags, and the admiration of people who also claim not to care about clout.
Pop culture theorists argue that performative males are trying… just in an incredibly visible way, that is.
They want to be emotionally literate, but they also want the moment to go viral.
They want to be feminists, but only in a way that fits their limited knowledge of such.
Still, you can’t deny the effort. A man who pairs Lana Del Rey with Muji interiors and an unusually large stack of classical literature is at least aiming for evolution.
Until then, those terrifying Labubu creatures of his stand tall, and that untouched playlist remains retro and romcom-ly.
And he continues performing the most handpicked identity of all…
A man who desperately wants you to know he has feelings.
