RILEY RAINS / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

LARA DOMINIQUE SOLANTE / COPY EDITOR

While students walk to class, one might spot a mustached man pretending to read Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” — all the while adorning chunky rings, wired headphones, Doc Martens and nails polished to perfection. Another Torero trying to study in peace might find a male drinking matcha with a guitar strung on his back, all his books held in a tote bag embellished with an elaborate image of Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.” “Performative men” have permeated the University of San Diego’s campus. The pejorative term implies that a man is pretending to be something — a feminist scholar, an avid musician or a 6-foot-2 bookworm — in order to get laid. 

While the term has many different connotations, Toreros seem to take a more lighthearted approach. Benji Mitchell, USD first-year, argues that the performative man might be the ultimate solution.

“I think performative males are a pretty fire group of men,” Mitchell exclaimed. “Drinking tea, listening to indie artists, and reading feminist literature, I mean I feel like we’re on the way to world peace.”

USD junior Sofia Rea gave her own definition of this new aesthetic categorization. 

“I think performative males are an archetype of a certain type of man who tailor their interests and styles to what they think women want,” Rea said. “Typically, this includes things like listening to female artists and reading feminist literature, regardless of whether they genuinely enjoy those things.”

Man at performative male contest. Photo courtesy of @Zofia.santeh/Instagram

To USD senior Sasha Milshtein, performative males share the same overarching, definitive traits, most of them aesthetic and intended for the female eye.

“First off, the outfit,” Milshtein said. “Preferably thrifted, made of a material that screams ‘vintage upholstery,’ patterned in a way that suggests he once studied abroad in Berlin for three weeks. Then we move up to the headphones — wired obviously. Airpods are capitalist propaganda, and nothing kills the vibe faster than looking like you paid full price at the Apple store. And the drink? Always a matcha or a chai. And the newest addition I’ve noticed — carrying tampons and pads. Like, he’ll just casually whip them out of his tote bag mid-conversation. Is it supportive? Yes. Is it weirdly intimate for someone I just met? Also yes.”

The obvious joke has developed from a derogatory label into a widespread trend, where  men from all over America have taken part in performative male contests: Who can appeal to the progressive, feminist gaze the best? Colleges like University of Houston, Yale University and the University of Iowa, have all hosted their own competitions in their respective campuses — winners earning a badge of honor and — in Yale’s case, a prized Labubu. 

Yale’s contest hosted three rounds: one for liberal feminist takes, another for performative talents and lastly a final showdown. Some eye-catching attractions included a menstrual pad sopping with matcha, a wrapped tampon posing as a cigarette and totes filled with vinyls ranging from Chappell Roan to Jeff Buckley. Books stacked in men’s arms included admirable authors such as Sally Rooney, Joan Didion and Jane Austen.

Contestants at the Performative Male Competition at the TN Woman Suffrage Monument.  Photo courtesy of @Zofia.santeh/Instagram

Milshtein  finds these contests entertaining herself, but there’s a chance they might overstep.

“I think they are super funny,” Milshtein commented. “The current trend of contests on a variety of random topics all over notable cities in the U.S. have been very entertaining, and they’ve gotten a lot of publicity. I think it will be funny until it crosses a line. I hope it doesn’t, and we    can  just keep it humorous, but there are a lot of ways to offend people in this situation. If the joke leans too hard into mocking men for embracing softer, more intentional choices, then it stops being funny and starts reinforcing the same toxic masculinity we’re all supposedly moving away from.”

The “Performative Male” contest is one of many viral assemblies of this sort where Gen Z comes together for lighthearted joking about male behavior. However, some critics are weary about how the label is affecting our view of masculinity. 

Forbes lifestyle contributor Brett Bradley-Palko argues that the joke is a lose-lose situation for everyone.

“For men, curating a self around aesthetic markers can breed anxiety: the endless upkeep of authenticity, the fear of being ‘found out,’” Bradley-Palko explained. “For women, it can spark cynicism and mistrust, undermining what could otherwise be sincere connections.”

USD senior, Rex Verge, disagrees with Bradley-Palkos’ take. 

“From what I have seen online, it appears to be more of a playful category than a harmful one,” Verge argues. “One of my favorite movies of all time is ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ and it literally is about a guy being a performative male and then it blowing up in his face. The only time he actually was connecting with Kat was when he was actually being genuine which led him to start to care more and more.”

The performative males can be spotted everywhere in modern media: Sombr, Timothee Chalamet and Jacob Elordi being just a few well-known examples. However, for some, the character is their truest self.  While some feel hurt when they receive the label, Verge isn’t fazed. 

A man in the Tennessee Performative Male Competition. Photo courtesy of @Zofia.santeh/Instagram

“I don’t care if others think it is an act or something,” Verge stated. “What I listen to and watch makes me happy, and isn’t that what matters? And I have been drinking boba since I was little because I am Asian.”

Mitchell even enjoys being called “performative” from time to time.

“I actually pinned a comment on Instagram of my friend calling me performative on my last post,” Mitchell joked. “If the shoe fits, I guess. But like, I can also name five Clairo songs and I’ve seen her in concert so I’d say I’m pretty true to my craft.”

With contests spreading all over the U.S. and the term invading our daily vocabulary, the performative man has fully infiltrated our culture. Whether you think the term is derogatory or good-and-fun, make sure to keep your eye out for the Labubu keychains and baggy jeans — a Laufey-loving man might be on your tail.

Finalists at the Pomona College Performative Male Competition. Photo courtesy of @aspc.pomona/Instagram