Everybody knows what the basic image of a so-called “Performative Male” looks like: A man with matcha in one hand and “The Will to Change” by Bell Hooks in the other, strolling casually down the street with Clairo playing in his wired earbuds. This archetype of man, which has gained notoriety on the internet in recent months, has sparked in equal parts incredible gender discourse and thirst traps as it has taken the world by storm. The University of Connecticut has been no exception to this, as on Monday at 5 p.m., Storrs saw its first-ever Performative Male Contest.
There were many posts that graced the UConn YikYak page on Sept. 2, but perhaps most notably among them was the birth of the idea of a “Performative Male Contest” happening on campus. The original post, which now has over 1,000 updates and 16 comments, only contained a simple image detailing the time, date and location of the fated event alongside a cartoon picture of matcha and some Laufey and Clairo album covers.
As campus sat abuzz waiting for the event, little was known about what exactly it would entail. Who was behind the original post? Who would run the competition? Would anyone actually even show up? It was truly anyone’s guess.
Three minutes before the event was slated to start, there weren’t many answers to be found. As loose collections of students stood on Fairfield Way in front of the Homer Babbidge Library, with some clearly dressed to compete, everyone seemed to be waiting for someone to reveal themselves as the organizer and take charge. As the minutes passed, an unexpected answer presented itself.
Reem Saood, a third-semester political science and human rights major, took charge of the crowd and herded the contestants into a line. As students saw a clear center of attention, the crowd grew steadily with more interested onlookers. As around 12 students made their way to center stage, the competition had now begun.
Yet, Saood actually had no part in organizing the event, and she had no idea who was behind it all. As she explained after the fact, “I just saw everyone gather in a crowd together and no one was doing anything, so I just decided to be like, ‘Hey Guys!’”
Adorning each contestant were various assortments of Labubus, iced matchas, carabiners on each hip, wired earbuds and headphones, Faye Webster vinyl, feminist books such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “A Court of Silver Flames” and even two acoustic guitars. Several of the men were carrying tampons and sanitary pads, which they proceeded to throw out into the crowd.
Saood went down the line asking the men questions which would test who was truly the most performative of them all, including “Who is your favorite female celebrity?;” “What’s your favorite quote about women’s empowerment?;” “What’s your favorite part of a woman?;” and “What’s your biggest red flag?”
Sporadic cheers and boos followed each answer, with some fan favorites being “Michelle Obama” for favorite celebrity and “I don’t talk a lot, only because when a woman of color is speaking… I listen and learn,” for reddest flag.
The crowd swelled to roughly 150 at the peak of the event, with contestants being whittled down by progressive rounds of voting. After about 30 minutes, only four remained.
Momo Celcis, a first-semester student, stood calm and collected with their Gorillaz t-shirt, pink skateboard and “I heart boobies” belt as they approached the final round. They described their preparation for the event started “as soon as they saw the ad on YikYak” a week before and the results of that effort were clear.
“Unlike a lot of these guys, I’m actually interested in everything and I am biologically a woman, so this just, is second nature to me,” they said about the confidence they had walking into the competition.
Another participant in the final four, first-semester student Aidan Minogue, was equally confident going into it, believing that “I just had to be myself and true to who I am.” He swooned the crowd with his bleach buzzed haircut, specially styled with a pink painted circle and cross on the back of his head representing the female sex.
Minogue would go on to win the day, receiving the loudest cheer of the final four to secure his victory. As he took in his victory, he spoke out unto the crowd of his grand plans after this.
“I believe going forward I can make some big changes… I’m gonna go straight to the government, I’m gonna start protesting, feminine products should be free, no more pink tax, the pay gap should be equalized, I think there’s a lot to work on,” he said. Celcis, who would come second in the end, reflected on the event and its significance afterwards, saying that, “I was so happy to see a bunch of beautiful faces like me. I’m so happy to see so many men, young men interested in feminism and human rights… I’m so happy that they honored women’s voices.”
Although it’s still unknown who was behind the contest in the first place, it’s clear that the impact made a mark on many of those who were able to watch it. Now, the only question that remains is when’s the performative masc lesbian competition?