In this week’s installment of “What the Hell Is wrong With Gen Z?,” a new archetype of person is being taken to task: the “performative male.”

Last week, I wrote about how Gen Z suffers from the “anxiety of trying.” Basically, Gen Z is so conscious of how they’re perceived that they sit on the sidelines out of fear of someone judging them. So it really shouldn’t be a surprise that this week, Gen Z is calling out their own for what they see as “performative” masculinity.

The performative male, as far as I can tell, simply means someone who wears trendy clothes, reads books and drinks matcha. Maybe they have some tattoos, a mullet and wear jewelry, but mostly, it seems it’s a label akin to the “pick me” for girls.

If you scroll through TikTok or Instagram Reels, you’ll come across countless parody videos of men pretending to be this archetype, often to exaggerated extremes. There was even a “performative male” contest held last weekend in NYC’s Washington Square Park, where a swarm of Benson Boone clones paraded around with books and coffees while wearing crop tops. It also appeared to be satire, but who knows?

I’m starting to think no one hates Gen Z more than Gen Z hates Gen Z. 

@malevtok As a #performativemale♬ original sound - malevtok

@kylemkeller

labubu matcha mustache

♬ original sound - Kyle Keller