Performative Males Take Over Sanford Mall

Isaac James (11), AJ McAulay (12), Alaska Whitehead (12), and Oliver Powell (12) pose as they show off their performative male attire. Whitehead later participated in the contest and displayed his attire for the audience to see. “I went up and I showed off my one-of-a-kind Clairo tote bag with my Clairo vinyls, my Jeff Buckley vinyl, and my Twilight CD,” said Whitehead. “And then I rip my button-up shirt open to reveal the 'I Heart Women' crop top.” (Photo creds: Isaac James)

Jax Marsh, Staff Writer for the Powderhorn

You stroll onto the green grass of Sanford Mall at App State. You stretch your arms out wide as you take in the beautiful scenery on a sunny afternoon. You take a deep breath of fresh air and smell… matcha? You’re not at your local Starbucks. You just walked into the Performative Male Contest. On Sunday, September 7, 2025, Appalachian State students came together to host a “Performative Male Contest” on the Sanford Mall. Contests like this one have been rapidly appearing around the U.S.

The App State students who organized the contest didn’t treat the event as an actual competition. Their purpose in having the contest was more about getting people together to have some fun and connect while poking fun at the “performative male” stereotype. The event attracted upwards of 500 people onto Sanford Mall, with 150 participating in the contest where male contestants showcased exaggerated and stereotypical ways of attracting women. 

Senior AJ McAulay attended the contest that weekend to watch and cheer on some friends who were participating. McAulay recalled some exciting acts that he saw that day, such as someone competing in the contest playing the saxophone.

“He actually played and he was good. I don't know exactly how performative that is, but it was like, I was impressed,” said McAulay. “There were two dudes that were low-key cheating because they brought pets up there, like a cat and a dog.” 

Sophomore Katherine Hemrick also attended the contest to watch. She found some of the acts particularly interesting as well. Hemrick even watched a literal cup of matcha, a staple of the performative male archetype, be created on the Sanford Mall.

“It was a group of  two, and then a girl came up, and it was like a little skit almost, and he took the chair and gave it to the girl and made matcha right there,” said Hemrick. “Oh, yeah, actually made. Like, he stirred it all up.”

Matcha, The Smiths, and feminist literature books seem to be what define a performative male, but McAulay believes that what makes a performative male is much more than that.

“It's just like this archetype of a dude who's like… it's not even just being stereotypes of [someone who likes] The Smiths, Clairo, and being [a] feminist. It's more that they really are doing it as a performance for women,” said McAulay. “It's not just the actual content of what they're doing. It's more that they're doing that and are being kind of fake while doing it.”

Senior Alaska Whitehead participated in the Performative Male Contest that Sunday. Whitehead was one of many who enjoyed the positive atmosphere that the contest brought to the community.

“It was pretty fun being a part of it. It felt very unofficial. It just kind of felt like a group of people decided to plan it, and then everyone showed up and did it. So it was kind of cool to be a part of,” said Whitehead. “It felt very casual. It was just [a] fun little thing you could do if you felt like it. It was a fun group of people.”

The Performative Male Contest hosted by App State students was a riveting success. It invited people from all over the county to come and enjoy the day in a carefree, fun environment, where no one lost and no one won. The organizers, however, had a different perspective. Regardless of whether or not a guy is performing a stereotype, they are regularly thinking of ways to better themselves in the eyes of women. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll begin to actually like matcha. 

“The real winners, they said, were the women,” said Hemrick.