Performative anxiety

Around the world, a new trend is emerging. Performative men (previously known as ‘men’) are everywhere. 

It started, inevitably, on social media, with men called out for achingly aware attempts at appealing to progressive women. Think iced matcha lattes, female novelists, wired headphones, and tote bags with Labubus hanging off them. The guys your mother would warn you about, if she knew what half of those things were.

The meme has since spread to IRL contests to find the most performative male in New York, Jakarta, Seattle, and San Francisco, among others. The first-hand account of the San Francisco event, which was judged first by an AI model designed specifically for the task, then by a panel of influencers, could well be the trigger for a well-earned apocalypse.  

But it’s not only men that are being slapped with the ‘performative’ label. In fact, the term must be a frontrunner for word of the year.

Last week, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee called out Qantas for “performative remorse” for its treatment of staff. Elon Musk’s DOGE was criticised for “performative management”. The true impact of recent military operations have been questioned in the same vein. Even reading is under fire for being performative.  

In truth, most things in life have always had a degree of performance about them. The ability to demonstrate that performance on a larger scale has naturally upped the ante for everyone, from men with Labubus to men with the might of a nation’s military. The pushback is an inevitable cry for authenticity.

Being labelled performative doesn’t seem to stop people performing. If only they’d stop doing it while wearing Birkenstocks and socks.