The contest lasted over an hour and the audience remained interactive throughout. The judging was based on applause, so contestants did their best to add their own flair during their turn. Some empathized with the female experience while others played popular indie songs like “Riptide” by Vance Joy.
“I’ve never heard so many men talk about menstruation before,” onlooker Lily Gray said.
One participant took another approach during their turn, holding a sign reading “My culture is not your costume,” feigning protest and emphasizing the real existence of performative men.
Performative male contestants hold a sign on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025.
Despite the contest’s goal of acting like a man, it was open to participants of all genders.
Gray attended the evening’s contest in support of her friend, Vivian, who was competing. She said she thought a girl should win the contest because only a woman would understand the true peak performative male, as the goal is to appease women.
“I guess you could be a performative male, but you can’t be a performative male as well as you can be a performative woman pretending to be a performative male,” Gray said.
Contestant Esther Yu found out about the contest after seeing one of the posters on her walk back from class.
“I was really just going to watch, and then 10 minutes before, I was like, what if I just compete instead?” Yu said. “I feel like I have all the qualities of [a performative male].”
Yu came ready to compete in a t-shirt from an indie music festival and “Adam’s Curse: A Future Without Men” by Bryan Sykes, a book describing a scientific theory about the possible extinction of men.
Though the aim was to win the embroidered sash that would offer the highest honor of the best “performative male,” there was little animosity between contestants, as they offered each other high-fives and fist-bumps in between turns.
While the contest was meant to poke fun at an internet trend, the positive turnout suggested genuine interest in student-based events. Gray said she thinks it should be a yearly tradition.
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“It’s fun when we have student-run, non-UNC events like this,” Yu said. “And it’s just purely word of mouth.”
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