TikTok’s ‘Performative Man’ Satire Broadens Masculinity Discourse

An evolution of the terms #pickmeboy and ‘wokefishing’, describing men's virtue signalling in order to manipulate women, the Performative Man (PM) curates feminised style and progressive cultural tastes to convey an eschewing of traditional machismo, but typically still retreats into misogynistic behaviour. Women are posting about the PMs they’ve spotted in the wild, such as American @Curatedfindzzz’s video of a man in a flowing white shirt sipping matcha and reading a Bronte novel on a mall escalator (5.5 million views).

Now men who embody PM traits are using the trend to signpost their own self-awareness. New York TikTokker @thejeanluc parodies PMs for declaring they “only read books by females”, pretending to love women musicians, and proclaiming feminist opinions, all while subtly undermining the woman they’re talking to (1.2 million views). An August TikTok about a ‘Performative Man Contest’ in Jakarta, Indonesia, featuring men in identikit outfits (cropped T-shirts, suit trousers, metal belt chains) holding feminist literature and albums of ‘sensitive’ music, has hit over 753,000 views.

PM discourse is ironic but with a sincere undercurrent, signalling a commitment to lampooning misogyny-coded performativity and acknowledging the necessity of bringing men into the conversation. As self-satirising men join in, there’s space for brands here too. American lifestyle retailer Abercrombie & Fitch partnered with Canadian creator @yungjackinannen on a ‘Day in the Life of a Performative Man in NYC’ TikTok, reaching 2.5 million views, featuring him trying to catch admiring glances as he sips orange wine, reads women-authored books, and listens to American singer Clairo (PMs’ musical talisman). One comment on the post, with 82,200 likes, reads: “This video is lowkey what American Psycho would be if set in 2025”.

For more, see Masculinity & Pop Culture: A New Roadmap for Entertainment, Brands, & Social Media.