Of Matcha and Men

Sydney Lee

Watch as he sips his matcha in his barrel jeans, how he reads “Atomic Habits” by James Clear with wired headphones playing Faye Webster in his ears. Unlike a casual consumer or genuine enthusiast, the performative male curates these things to make a persona out of carefully chosen traits. The archetype of the performative male has recently become popular in cultural discourse and the subject of many jokes on social media, but there is a lot more to being performative than just wearing a tote bag and listening to Clairo.

In the Oxford Dictionary, the word performative as an adjective means “relating to or of the nature of performance.” When applied to people, it suggests behavior that is ultimately meant to signal an identity instead of reflecting inner truth. Therefore, the “performative male” is not exactly defined by what he actually enjoys but by how convincingly he showcases those enjoyments.

Sociologist and social psychologist Erving Goffman described social life as a stage, where people present themselves through gestures, clothes and routines. What makes the performative male so different (and polarizing) is that his performance is so visible. People are uncomfortable with him because he declares the identity he is trying to portray: Look, I am progressive, cultured and thoughtful!

The discomfort for a lot of people (whether they realize it or not) comes from recognition. Many people carefully edit Spotify playlists before sharing them or read self-help books to appear more “serious.” People like the illusion of authenticity, even if it is curated and more manufactured. However, the performative male breaks this illusion. He reminds us that we are also staging ourselves for others by making his image so carefully and openly. 

Critiques of the performative male are rarely about the matcha, the music, or the books themselves. These critiques and jokes reflect our vulnerability and unease with the transparency of his performance on the “social stage,” as Goffman would say. The performative male gets rid of the image of effortless authenticity just by existing. The problem lies more in the fact that he makes authenticity look curated, rather than actually being inauthentic himself. The performative male forces us to confront the fact that our own identities are performances as well, just less openly so.