Judith Butler is famous for writing that gender is a performance. What the renowned gender studies scholar did not write, though, is that gender can be more than a performance; it can also be a competition.
Labu-Butler quotes aside, the buzz around the viral “performative male” contest coming to campus had been building for weeks — from cryptic posters for “feminist literature clubs” featuring Beabadoobee book covers to the clinking cacophony of carabiners as Crossroads baristas were flooded with matcha orders at exactly 3:15 p.m. last Friday.
As I approach the competition with my camera, skateboard and wired headphones (I’m 6'5", by the way), I’m struck by the variety of interpretations of performative male-ness on display. A guitar-slinging duo serenades a crowd with Hozier. Another pair makes a nonchalant entrance, both nose-deep in books, asking, “Wait, is there some kind of event happening or something?” Nearby, a man — not even a contestant — cradles a cat and offers free pets.
This TikTok trend brought to life on the lawn of McCullough was the vision of Chidinma Ike ’27, a biochemistry major and Black studies minor.
“It started out as a joke, really,” she said. “I’m always the planner friend, organizing friends’ birthdays and stuff. I just said to myself, I’m gonna do it. I thought it would be fun, light-hearted, and not that deep.”
Ike stayed anonymous until the day of the competition, promoting the event through the Instagram account @middperformativemale.
“Keeping it anonymous created a funnier environment and some suspense — like, who is this person?” she said. “I didn’t want it to just be my close friends or people who know me. Still, my friends were really supportive. They knew it was funny and unserious.”
Contestant Elliot Dufeu ’28 shared the same light-hearted spirit. “I feel like sometimes Middlebury lacks the energy for something spontaneous and fun. I saw other schools doing it, and it looked like a lot of fun,” Dufeu said.
The crowd swelled as contestants took turns waxing poetic, presenting their performance-enhancing objects, and answering questions from Ike and the audience. Their hatred for periods drew thunderous applause.
“Oh my gosh, it was complete chaos,” Ike laughed. “Half those questions I pulled from thin air. I was pretending to be on my phone — it was a blank screen. Total go-with-the-flow. I kept thinking to myself, this is so funny, I’m gonna keep going.”
When I asked if anything could have gone differently, Ike reflected: “Even though it’s a performative male contest, I did say all genders were welcome. I was hoping for more non-men to show up, but it’s okay.”
Her one regret? Not making it a pregame with a party afterward: “People dressing as performative males, a DJ spinning Clairo/Sexxy Red remixes — that would’ve been perfect.”
The winners didn’t go home empty-handed. First place received Clairo CDs; second place, Dunkin’ gift cards. They then vanished over Chapel Hill like tiny specks of dust, baggy jeans flapping in the wind.
