It happened overnight: one morning, we all opened our phones and were bombarded with videos. Totes, matcha, Labubus, feminist literature and Clairo, performative culture – the newest trend had taken over our For You pages.

Performative, a term coined by the internet, is someone who adopts trendy and soft traits to gain a reputation as someone who is in touch with womanhood. Performative culture has existed since the start of time, but the term itself has only recently gained mainstream popularity. The term refers to men who adopt a soft, alternative aesthetic to attract others, often being seen as superficial, inauthentic, or just following trends for attention.

“To me, a performative male is a guy who has sort of warped his identity around not necessarily things that he enjoys,” Senior Bennet Corrales said. “[The term ‘performative’] is more of a trend than anything. You just noticed it now because they’re all wearing the same glasses and listening to Clairo.”

For many who have adopted the “niche-loving” softer aesthetic, the label is an annoying, trendy stereotype. For some others, a funny joke or silly meme, but like most things on the internet, it has its limits.

“I think there’s always [been] performative [culture] but right now, especially … It’s just a [big] meme,” senior Asher Smuek said. “There is a line … if you’re just [calling someone performative] to hurt someone’s feelings, that’s kind of a jerk move.”

Like most things on the internet, a trend can start out funny. Videos of people taking it way over the top with matcha obsessions, collections of Labubus and the like often get laughs online. However, once that scope begins to expand beyond the digital landscape, problems can start to emerge. People who simply enjoy a certain type of aesthetic can be labeled in a way that they don’t care for, making the meme more of a nuisance in other contexts.

“It’s supposed to be funny, or a joke, or a micro trend,” senior Makena Hadley said. “Not as a way of categorizing others.”