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Volume 62 Issue 2 ! November 03, 2025
Graphic illustration by Amanda Jin and Rohan Kakhandiki
FROM TO The problem with performative males BY RACHEL MARTIN AND OLIVIA TU
S
crolling through social media, you’ll quickly find him: sipping on an oat milk, 80% sugar matcha latte, reading Sylvia Plath in a cafe while pretending to study, Clairo blasting through his wired earbuds: he’s the “performative male,” an internet archetype that has quickly garnered attention and spilled into real life as students try to emulate similar images in performative male contests. Although this lighthearted mockery of performativity has an element of fun and even encourages progressive habits like reading feminist literature, it’s arguably counterintuitive: the concept of a performative male actually discourages authenticity and reinforces gender stereotypes by painting specific habits as desirable. Social media has distorted its message of empowerment. A performative male typically pretends to enjoy interests such as matcha and Labubus to attract and appeal to women. Although the term is new, it echoes older archetypes such as “gym bros” and “soft boys.” While gym bros are associated with traditional ideas of masculinity through sometimes ostentatious fitness obsessions, soft boys are akin to modern performative males, superficially embracing emotional expression and artistic interests. Story continued on page 7.
Editors’ Picks ‘No Kings’ movement takes to San José and Sunnyvale streets pg. 4 The problem with performative males pg. 7 From Andrew Wu, with love and chickens pg. 8 AI codes the future of our military pg. 11 Ethan Chen builds strength from the ground up pg. 14