On Sept. 6 at 4 p.m., Molly Clinton (‘29) hosted a “performative male contest” in the Welch-Holloway courtyard. Eight students competed to win a $13.27 Chipotle gift card. Contestants were judged by the crowd on their fashion, music and film taste. They were also tested on their knowledge of feminists in pop culture, such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Taylor Swift and Greta Gerwig.
Finalists Grady Cummings (‘27) and Kevin Bach (‘27) were rated highly by the crowd on their outfits and tours of what was in their tote bags. They also answered questions such as: ‘Is Taylor Swift hate justified?’, ‘What is your Letterboxd top five?’ and ‘What are your thoughts on the economic state of the world right now?’ It was a tough decision for the crowd between the two finalists, but Cummings unanimously won the competition.
The ‘performative male’ has become a recent trending joke online, sparking competitions for who can be the most performatively feminist. A performative male is often seen holding a matcha latte or a book (often by a female author), dressing or listening to music with an indie or alternative style and speaking out about women’s issues and feminism. What makes the latter performative is that men in these online videos tend to speak on feminist issues in order to seem more attractive to women.
Clinton stated, “I’ve been disappointed on the weekends…people generally are not open to making community or meeting new people. So, I wanted to control what I could and contribute to making Drew fun.” She advertised the event completely on the social media platform YikYak, getting a large amount of attention from students through word of mouth.
Due to the turnout and success of her event, more students began promoting similar events via YikYak, including a performative ‘masc’ contest the following weekend on Sept. 14. In response, Clinton said, “I was so happy to see other people organizing competitions. I’d love to see more things like that.”
Jaden Finn is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science.
