“performative male” (n) – a man who engages in stereotypically ‘sensitive’ activities to appeal to women” – Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Performative males are changing gender norms leading men to be more comfortable in liking things that are women oriented.
Men on social media have become more vocal in their appreciation of women indie-rock artists and they aren’t getting ridiculed for it. Men are more interested in feminist literature and try to understand it rather than tossing the subject away.
The rise of performative males has caused a stir in social media. Some say that performative males are ‘dumb’ and their main goal is only to attract women. However, the opposing argument to that is performative males are challenging the gender norms that have been set for decades.
With the trend of performative males on the incline, males are now trying to enjoy things that women typically enjoy. Whether that’s going to the library with a tote bag, a Labubu attached to a carabiner and sipping on a matcha latte.
Performative men have gotten a lot of criticism. One of the main reasons some people are so against performative males is due to toxic masculine ideologies.
For decades, men have been expected to be tough and manly. In spite of that, this new trend is starting to feminize men and challenging the gender norms that have been set in stone from years prior.
Youtuber Cole Hastings dove deep into the topic of performative males and the surrounding negative notion around it.
“The idea that a man could be interested in drinking tea, reading for pleasure,” Hastings said. “ Wearing something that’s often related to a feminine activity is preposterous and automatically considered ‘performative’.”
The idea of what a man should be, has been skewed for many years especially within the film industry. Young men in the past have been influenced by actors such as Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger for their performance of masculinity.
Eastwood represented the traditional American masculinity, Stallone represented the pneumatic (emphasizing the male body and physical strength) masculinity and Schwarzenegger represented the tough dominant male.
The ideas of toxic masculinity kept getting reinforced during the rise in popularity of content creator Andrew Tate. Tate rose to popularity with his beliefs that men should be more dominant and be more alpha.
I think it’s great that we are seeing an uptick in performative males because it’s challenging not only the toxic masculine ideologies, but also is challenging society to reverse their idea of what masculinity looks like.
