I'm thinking didn't I just blog that, but it's dated today, so no, I did not. Six days ago, I blogged "Forget The Lonely Men Epidemic—The Performative Male Era Is Here, And We Need To Talk (And Run)/He knows his moon sign, wears thrifted clothes, and posts aesthetic carousels with captions about healing and self-love," which I found — in Elle India — because I'd googled "performative male." We were told, "he comes armed with wired headphones, tote bags, vintage clothes, matcha lattes, Spotify playlists ft. Clairo or Laufey, and Sally Rooney books."
And here's the NYT, replete with an illustration that includes — of all things — a Sally Rooney book. It felt too drain-circling to blog, but then I got to this, and I knew it was bloggable:
It is also not surprising that some men are already leaning in on the joke and deliberately inviting, rather than dodging, accusations of performativity, said Tony Wang, the founder of the consulting and trend forecasting company Office of Applied Strategy. Indeed, men are posting videos referring to themselves as Performative Males in their captions. Many cheekily post videos of themselves reading dense books, upside down, or carrying three or four or five Labubus to exaggerate the aesthetic.
“There is something meta ironic about it,” Mr. Wang said. “It almost provides this level of armor or cover where the guy could be like, ‘Oh, I’m just being ironic, don’t take it too seriously.’”
How do you know whether the men are making fun of the concept or genuinely attempting to reform themselves in accord with feminist theory? Are they "going meta" or are they just trying to appeal to women by listening too stupidly to what women seem to be saying they want?
Anyway... "going meta"... that was once a buzzword of our time. What happened? Sincerity? I think not.
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---- Tony Wang, the founder of the consulting and trend forecasting company Office of Applied Strategy
Isn't that in The Crying of Lot 49?
Phil Donahue enters the conversation.
There's always some performance in the way anyone presents themselves. It's just that some of those ways are truly dumb (YMMV).
Is Tony Wang related to Vera Wang? Family moving into the women's accessory business?
Labubus? Are they related to Yogi Bear?
"Oh dear," I think, looking at my oversized tote bag while sipping my morning matcha latte, dressed in my grandfather's trousers. At least I don't have a Labubu tchotchke.
Q: How do you know whether the men are making fun of the concept or genuinely attempting to reform themselves in accord with feminist theory?
A: No man has genuinely attempted to reform themselves in accord with feminist theory.
Yes, of course. Guys will do almost anything for a single serving recyclable Zipless Fuck with a horny feminazi.
And hear I thought Labubus was the new GenZ low key slang for Camel Toe.
It's the new performative, now with added hipster !
This is basically every male in Ann Arbor.
I remember back when we used to refer to 'performative man with curated lifestyle' as a 'self-absorbed jackass'.
"Many cheekily post videos of themselves reading dense books,"
I dont think this is "Cheek", it sounds more like irony. People have spotted a trend and are now making fun of it. Weird how this gets the attention of NYTs readers. But maybe not so weird on 2nd thought.
Wouldn't "performative males" not only read Sally Rooney but also the NYT's? Or talk about Molly fast-Jung's latest broadside against her Mom?
I knew guys like this in college. But then, they were Gay. 40 years later, I wonder if any of them had a sex change operation.
"If you're unsure whether you're gay or not, it's all about the length of your shorts."
https://x.com/i/status/1955640077104902257
SWPL hipsters and the performative males seem to have similarities but hipsters are all about being different while these performative males just want to be with the girls.
Throughout history there have always been peacocked males advertising for female company. This is just the latest iteration. Let me know when cod pieces come back as an accessory for the well presented straight male.
I'm old enough to remember when even NPR could make fun of performative men on their feature "Sensitive Male Hotline."
Thirty and more years ago; hard to believe.
As for the current trends, I have to bend over to show my moon sign.
I've been a bag-toter for most of my life. Much easier to haul a pile of books in a bag than loose. Duh.
My wife (girlfriend at the time) made me plain zippered shoulder bag about 1976, that I wore out over the next few years. Several guys offered to pay her to make bags for them, but she never did--she stopped sewing altogether about then.
I don't think my copy of Montcalm and Wolfe I have been reading at Starbucks is going to get me laid. Although, if it does, I will marry her.
Didn’t we used to call these people metrosexuals? Half the metrosexuals were gay and the other half were insufferable narcissists.
"...hipsters are all about being different ..."
Now that's funny, right there. 'Different', but within a very tight set of guardrails. I see few differences.
I'm just laughing.
Can men be brave enough to admit (at least to themselves) they don't have a plan?
Who actually lives in that world of theirs?
its a figment of their imagination,
"Performative" -- a word that means what it means and means the opposite of what it means. "Performative men" in the other (original?) sense of the word got things done and built this country.
Today, "performative men" are metrosexuals with PC ideas. PC seems to be slowly collapsing or imploding. The niche that supports metrosexuality and political correctness is losing out to AI, so will we have to worry about "performative men" much longer?
Step back a minute. We used to learn about "performative males" and other new social phenomena from people like Henry Fielding, or Jane Austen, or Charles Dickens or George Eliot. Now we learn about them from the style pages of the Times. Death of the novel.
There's a fine line between authentic performativity and self-actualization. That tightrope is a temporary home.
Some women find it in strip clubs. It's a sad place, really. The performer, the audience, the whole thing.
I don't think that, at the end of the day, women really like intelligent men. For one thing, there is the problem of NPR. Women all believe that NPR is a straight up source of intelligent —air quotes— conversation and takes on the news. If their "intelligent" man doesn't share the opinions purveyed by NPR, well, how intelligent could he really be? And those people on NPR have such nice voices! Click & Clack were about the last intelligent people I ever heard on NPR. But that doesn't matter, they think they like intelligent men, and if you can use that to get into their pants, it doesn't matter. It's like that song Peaceful, Easy Feeling, an early manosphere take. Really, you should read the lyrics.
I just had this conversation with my wife last night. Everyone is defining all men by the actions of about 20% of men who are the most aggressive and interested in sex.
Throughout history about 50% of men are completely invisible to women. The only time these men get to participate in procreation is when institutions like arranged marriage are imposed on women.
For the most part women when given freedom will whore themselves out to the tallest most attractive men with strong testosterone markers and get mad when those men don’t marry them and help raise the kids they father in them.
About 30% of men and women choose pair bonding when choices are available.
In a free society about 20% of the men have about 70% of the babies with about 70% of the women.
Arranged marriage looks pretty good at that point.
“Performative Man” is just another term for Chad and Tyrone.
"The only time these men get to participate in procreation is when institutions like arranged marriage are imposed on women."
For a long time you had a pretty good chance as a member of an invading army, well, you had a shot, anyway.
The action is brave,
Splendid the pay!
And the soldiers go marching away.” - The Soldier's Chorus, Faust.
What used to be known as Teh gay.
The worst fascists wear earth shoes.
Performative exhibitions are viable in liberal cultures under the Pro-Choice religion where progress is a rite of virtuous indication.
"How do you know whether the men are making fun of the concept or genuinely attempting to reform themselves in accord with feminist theory?"
Men do not "reform" themselves to anything feminist.
Pussy's do.
If you want to know what a man looks like, Google Marlboro cigarettes.
"In a free society about 20% of the men have about 70% of the babies with about 70% of the women."
For example?
The Office of Applied Strategy parodies the Six Million Dollar Man. Bigger. Stronger. Faster. Performativer.
Extremely homosexual
Aggie said...
"In a free society about 20% of the men have about 70% of the babies with about 70% of the women."
For example?
The present day United States.
The results are predictable. There is a reason why the pendulum is going to swing back hard on women’s choices in reproduction.
Societies have been swinging between arranged marriage and harems for millennia. We are currently at peak harem mating patterns in the US.
We will be swinging back to arranged marriage patterns for a while. Probably too far and women will demand freedom again. Repetitive.
The Office of Applied Strategy? Isn't that affiliated with the University of Science? In any event, I feel quite confident that none of these performative males have ever had a dog house.
Jaq said...
"The only time these men get to participate in procreation is when institutions like arranged marriage are imposed on women."
For a long time you had a pretty good chance as a member of an invading army, well, you had a shot, anyway.
This is the primary way the river of history has overflowed its banks. Thanks for typing this so I didn’t have to.
But now even that option is gone.
Women will be upset that conquering robots will just kill them rather than the alternative.
I haven't heard about "earth shoes" in about 40 years. Apparently there were so many imitations and knock-offs and so much litigation that the original company went under. They are back again, but only as a brand -- without the "negative heel" feature that characterized the original. It's unclear, though, whether the "negative heel" really was beneficial.
God save us all.
I never fell for the earth shoe scam, but I must admit that I had a pair of blue shoes with the extra height--not that I needed it, and it was hard to walk in them so I only wore them once or twice, probably to a concert.
Do I have this right?
Performative males intentionally act in ways most men would not find manly.
And what percent of women find this irresistible? Is it about the same as the guys who joined NOW on way back when I was on campus? I'll admit they often came back to the room with tales of oh-so fascinating conversations with new friends. Female companions? Not so much.
Baby I can't protect you. I can't provide for you. I can't lift heavy objects. But I have a wonderful book of poetry in this embroidered bag.
Wow. Especially at age 73, I don't go strutting about, chest thrust out leaving a vapor trial of testosterone in my wake. But I'll bet women could pick me out of a lineup of the performative without hesitation.
Whenever hetero males do anything related to style or words, it's a ploy to get into women's pants. Women who fall for that shit will always be disappointed.
They probably carry around copies of the NY Times as well....
Here's an idea, stop reading the NY Times and you don't need to see this garbage.
"...For example?...The present day United States....The results are predictable...."
I see. I think you're getting a little over your skis, there, stating that 70% of the women are cheating on their mates with 20% of the so-called attractive males, and that's where all their babies come from. But, carry on, maestro.
Mark said...
Whenever hetero males do anything related to style or words, it's a ploy to get into women's pants. Women who fall for that shit will always be disappointed.
The biggest misunderstanding is that it is not all men who act like this. It is a relatively small proportion that do.But it is accepted that all men are jerks and that women have no responsibility in the outcome.
Viz Earth Shoes, there's a special circle of hell for them. They have to play against evil vollyball players for eternity.
Aggie said...
"...For example?...The present day United States....The results are predictable...."
I see. I think you're getting a little over your skis, there, stating that 70% of the women are cheating on their mates with 20% of the so-called attractive males, and that's where all their babies come from. But, carry on, maestro.
What percentage of children are in a family with their biological father in a married setting?
Recently Tennessee passed a law requiring DNA tests for parents on a birth certificate. Early results are not good.
There are different statistics for different races but as you start including all variables the number of biological mother + father nuclear units continues to dwindle.
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