"Hosted by university students Alisa Wu, Kake Jin and Yuni, along with several friends, the battle to be the city's most "performative male" drew steep competition and a boggling array of accessories: instruments including several guitars, a ukulele and a mandolin, Labubus in every outfit, and themed apparel ranging from a "brat" T-shirt to one that read "The Future Is Female.""
"Wu, a 19-year-old college student originally from Toronto, said she and several of the organizers were interning in the Bay Area this summer and wanted to offer an SF "spin" on the viral trend, in which people dress up to impress women based on loosely defined standards. She said some common signifiers of a performative man include carrying tote bags, reading books by authors like Jane Austen and listening to Clairo."
"Fellow organizer Yuni, a 19-year-old bioinformatics and computer science student at UC San Diego, similarly defined the term as a man who "dresses up a certain way" and "pretends to like certain things just to get women." As the head of marketing for Ditto AI, she helped secure the dating app's sponsorship of the event, which also received funding from other artificial intelligence companies such as AI Valley and ThirdLayer."
University students organized a public 'performative male' contest at Alamo Square Park that attracted many Generation Z participants showcasing curated aesthetic signifiers. Competitors wore Labubus pieces, pastel cow sweaters and themed T-shirts while carrying instruments such as guitars, a ukulele and a mandolin. Organizers characterized a performative man as someone who dresses and signals interest in cultural markers—tote bags, Jane Austen, Clairo—to impress women. The event secured sponsorship from Ditto AI and funding from AI Valley and ThirdLayer. Users were invited to submit photos to Performative.lol for evaluation by an AI model, adding a tech-oriented twist.
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