So, there’s a performative male contest happening at Thammasat Rangsit University on October 1.
It’s part of a bigger phenomenon that started in America, famously in Seattle, then San Francisco joined in. The events drew hundreds. Sponsors even stepped in, funny enough a matcha label. Then colleges got FOMO: Cornell, University of Florida, Memphis, Yale, everyone wanted their piece of the action.
And now Bangkok’s being Bangkok: a city where all gender expressions feel natural, where global movements find fertile ground and grow into something distinctly Thai. And it’s happening at Thammasat Rangsit Campus, Thailand’s progressive intellectual institution, where student movements were born and never really stopped. The place practically runs on boundary-pushing. Always has. So when the winds of change blow through, Thammasat makes it matter.
The invitation post reads: ‘Everyone’s welcome! This is a lighthearted event organised by students. Come join us for fun and entertainment! P.S. Don’t forget to bring all your performative essentials – books, matcha latte, wired earphones, your favourite CD and any literature! See you Wednesday October 1 at the SC1 Hall.’
Still, the contest’s poster makes clear the matcha latte can’t be the kind peddled by ‘Starbxxxx or their corporate cronies.’
So, this is how students do campus fun, staying true to their activist roots while actually having a good time.
What exactly makes a performative male?
This internet archetype describes men who have adopted progressive aesthetics for romantic gain. As opposed to alpha men (whose markers are dominance, aggression and toughness), these performative men cultivate an image of being non-threatening, sensitive and aesthetically pleasing.
A vivid physical presentation includes wired headphones (never AirPods, too mainstream), iced matcha lattes in hand, vintage baggy jeans and ubiquitous Labubu keychains dangling from their totes.
The sonic checklist includes Clairo and Laufey in rotation and Lana Del Rey for extreme impact. To this soundscape, add Sally Rooney novels, astrology deep-dives, therapy talks and an Instagram feed curated of moody park corners and that one quirky downtown cafe.
Buddha amulets instead of Labubus?
What's fascinating is how the picture of the performative male translates across cultures, how each place grabs it, pokes at it, flips it around, maybe even makes it better. Buddha amulets appear alongside Labubus in the contest promos as essentials a performative male could be interested in wearing. The cheeky detail shows how the concept globe-trots while inevitably staying super Thai at its core.
Gravity in the goof
There’s seriousness in the silliness of it all. Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity basically says gender isn’t something you are but something you do. We create gender through repeated actions. All these little performances make it seem like we have fixed gender identities, but really we’re building and rebuilding them through what we do, not because they were naturally there to begin with.
Other research on this stuff makes you go hmm: when men shake hands with other men, they squeeze 40% harder than they do with women (Mohammadian et al., 2014, Iranian Journal of Public Health). Extra cartilage compression in service of who-knows-what.
Their voices also drop 30 Hz when talking to other men versus women (Royal Society, 2018). Switching vocal gears without thinking. Unconscious method acting, dozens of times daily.
Basically, the performance never stops. Men performing masculinity, women performing femininity, everyone performing gender in ways that feel both chosen and required. The question isn’t whether we perform or not, because we all do.
So the contest isn’t really mockery. It just makes the obvious very visible. These men aren’t being ridiculed for performing masculinity, they’re catching themselves in the act. It’s really nice, actually, when everyone’s in on this whole gender theatre with awareness, choice and, this time, a lot of humour.