MICHELLE WU / DAILY NEXUS

A wired earbud set here, an unnecessarily annotated copy of “The Bell Jar” intentionally perched atop a coffee shop table there and maybe even a Letterboxd account — all tell-tale signs that an individual is what the internet has dubbed “performative.” A couple trend cycles ago, all of these objects and actions would have been genuinely unique and maybe even a little bit cool. But now to many, they are just a repurposed and repackaged copy of someone else’s individualism.

It’s understandable why these characters receive some not-so-stellar comments online. We are all trying to develop a genuine, but cool and unique version of ourselves organically, and to see someone try to replicate what we like and use it to be “posers” can be upsetting. Especially when that usage is just to attract girls, as is the case for many of the “performative males” who practice this strategy, in my opinion. Although being performative sounds negative, even down to the connotation of the word, this trend has spurred an increase in unapologetic self expression and comfortability in presenting against social norms. It feels like society is moving miles away from acceptance and tolerance across the board, but being able to be performative serves as an anchor for unique gender expression and going against the status quo.

There’s no clear definition for what makes one “performative,” but the umbrella trait to look for is doing activities and interests loudly in public and online for attention. “Performative-ness” can be found in the person who boasts about thrifting or listening to a niche artist with a small monthly listener count on Spotify. In a sillier — and more relevant example — a performative individual may be someone who owned a Labubu, or specifically those who brag about their interest in artists with predominantly female-leaning audiences like Clairo or beabadoobee.

These individuals’ attempts at garnering attention may have been successful at first, but now have been universally mocked. Upon further examination though, this annoying joke and trend is normalizing traditionally feminine traits and activities to a masculine audience. Almost everything that makes a man performative is related to femininity: the aforementioned pastel-colored Labubus used as bag charms tie them to femininity. The fact that these traits are being intentionally practiced by men online, albeit sometimes ironically and as a joke, further normalizes those traits and helps shift culture away from the hyper-masculine and regressive streak it has been down recently.

Luxury personal stylist Amanda Massi called the trend “a fascinating intersection of identity, intention, and cultural signaling.” It has unintentionally redefined what would once be an embarrassing practice in masculine culture as normal — at least if it’s in the pursuit of women. It has normalized those practices outside of romantic “wooing” as well!

This epidemic has done good in other spheres as well, normalizing traditionally masculine traits for women. It can be seen in the “performative masc” lesbian competitions that took college campuses by storm for a significant amount of time. Entire events and contests being formed around uniqueness and going against the norm promote normalization and excitement for those traits.

For these major reasons and also for giving myself and many others a laugh along the way, this trend seems to have been a net positive, even if it caused some unnecessary discourse between the “real fans” and “performatives.” However, it’s an uncomfortable possibility that for traits out of the norm to be accepted, they had to be hailed as a joke first. In this political and cultural climate, this isn’t a shock at all.

Radical conservatism is on the rise in young men, aided by shock value and controversial figures online and in the media. A shift that was undoubtedly aided as well by the election of the Trump administration. Hyper-conservative groups, like the “Groypers” and other contingents online, that promise they are even more nationalistic than President Donald Trump are in direct opposition to the kind of progressive expression that this trend has spurred. Young men have been made to feel that expressing femininity or even emotion mark them as weak, and the rhetoric that young women are inferior to men has been more common than ever.

Social media, the same space where alternative and progressive groups have been able to be validated through this trend, has also become starkly more conservative evident by a 4,600% increase in mentions of the terms “your body, my choice” and “get back in the kitchen” on X in response to a tweet made by the “Groyper” leader Nick Fuentes. This movement has recently become even more outspoken following the death of Charlie Kirk. 

It is evident more than ever that modern rhetoric and regressiveness is taking a toll on young people and this, admittedly silly, trend has fought a hard battle against the status quo that seems undefeatable to many. Something as “stupid” or “annoying” as flexing your passion for matcha or hosting fun competitions that reward those who are the most different can serve as shelter for the community and tolerance that is so under fire.

Lucy Miller thinks everything online is deeper than it seems when viewed with a trained, chronically-online eye.

A version of this article appeared on p. 14 of the January 15, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.