Performative Male Contest Comes to Howard University

In early September, a group of Howard University freshmen held their version of a performative male contest on The Yard. The event, spearheaded by freshman Madison Lee, included four rounds for contestants to prove they were the ultimate performative male on campus. 

The buzz around this event began with a simple social media post Lee, a political science major from New Jersey, explained. 

“We were sitting on the yard and I was just like, this would be so fun. So I went, I made a poster. I posted on Fizz. [And] It ended up getting a bunch of fizzups and people were showing genuine interest,” Lee said. 

The original flyer included some “rules” for the contestants, calling on them to bring their “Freshest matcha, grab your old vinyls, and throw on those sambas!”

As the event began, around 30 students entered the competition, with some contestants joining late and being forced to leave. The different rounds included a guess the song, a questionnaire, friend testimonials, and the final crowd decision. 

The event was even sponsored, with beverage truck Jaliyaa donating to the cause. The Friday before the competition, two special drink options were introduced at the truck: The Male Manipulator Matcha and Clairo Chai, to help raise funds towards the winner. 

In the end, the first place prize winner, freshman theatre major Xavier Guardo, went home with a $60 gift card which he intends to, “Spend it on matcha, give to the homeless, invest more in the woman community. And then lastly listen to some Erica Badu.” 

This was paramount to supporting the performative male archetype because enjoying matcha is a must when completing the reference. 

How do you spot a Performative male? 

Call them what you want, performative males, soft boys, or even manipulative men, it’ll take more than matcha to signify if you’re looking at a performative male. 

Many contestants brought out their vinyls, feminist literature and tote bags to announce their participation. They also proved their worth through their knowledge on various musical selections by artists like Frank Ocean, Laufey and Clairo.

As someone who has been active on the internet for a while, I can note that this type of male was first introduced through the skater boy archetype. You know the 2019, thrift crazy, mid-90s inspired type? That same artsy subtype is rebranded in 2025 as the preformative male we know today. 

It might seem like these contests began popping up out of nowhere, but the preformative male contests stem from the gatherings of look alike competitions. This makes sense that someone who fits the “2019 skater boy” mold—Timothee Chalamet—would be the root cause of these events. 

For top five finalists, Obinna Oramalu, a junior computer science major, there was nothing really performative about this competition. Still, he didn’t expect to be one of the last men standing. 

“I was surprised, honestly, that the crowd was receptive…just based off of what we had in the top three in general, I think it [The finalist] showed a diversity as well and what men that actually care can look like,” Oramalu shared. “I think that was great to see.” 

The crowd was just as charismatic as the contestants with energy that created the atmosphere.

“It’s honestly very inspiring to see how much support you can get for an event in just a little bit over a week,” Lae expressed. “
We were able to tag more things on just because of the amount of audience support that we received. And so I just want to say that I’m literally so grateful for that. And I think that’s what made it really unique. 
It’s just the amount of participation from everybody in the audience.”

The group will continue their performative antics as they gear up to host a performative stud contest on Oct. 4 in front of Douglass Hall. 

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• performative