Hornets put on their best thrifted outfits, showed off their favorite albums and answered pop culture trivia in the Library Quad for the Performative Hornet Contest hosted by the Associated Students Inc. of Sacramento State on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Sasha Margulies, an ASI student engagement and outreach coordinator, said the “performative male” is an archetype created by internet users regarding somebody who does performative actions to gain attention.
“We wanted to lean into the comedy of performative behavior because a lot of students resonate with how funny and over the top the people can get with a lot of trinkets on their bodies, baggy thrifted clothes, tote bags and accessories,” Margulies said.
Twenty competitors were divided into four rounds and eliminated through challenges and trivia questions, like “name the piece of women’s literature.” The crowd roared as contestants attempted to guess the indie songs blaring from the speakers.
Songs like “Linger” by The Cranberries, “We Fell in Love in October” by Girl in Red and “White Flag” by Clairo played loudly through the quad as contestants spun in circles, anticipating the next song.
Contestants showcased their knowledge and love for artsy, niche media like feminist literature and romance novels, often deemed “performative” online to sell their acts. All of them carried tote bags filled to the brim with different books varying in genre. Top picks included titles like “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “Women in the Picture: What Culture Does to Female Bodies” by Catherine McCormack, “The Intellectual Devotional” by David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim, and “Feminism for Dummies” by Cecile Dormeau.
The idea of “performative males” originated on TikTok and other social media platforms in late 2024, mocking men who visibly adopt aesthetic feminism and indie-alt culture as part of their pull strategy. These men present themselves through a curated mix of “soft” and artistic signifiers like style, iced matcha, Labubus, baggy jeans, literature-inspired Instagram captions and playlists featuring mellow indie artists to appear emotionally intelligent and relatable to women.
Margulies said the event’s questions in particular were based on her team’s research on popular trends and polls on ASI’s Instagram page.
RELATED: Second annual K-pop Night hits all the right notes
As the clock struck 12 p.m., about 150 students sat around the KSSU music station and makeshift stage in the Library Quad to watch the show. Performative Hornets were judged in groups of five and gave their best impressions to the crowd by showing off their tote bags, wired headphones, delicate jewelry, feminist literature and iced matcha drinks.
Melina Zuniga, a freshman criminal justice major and contestant, shared her obsession with all things Pop Mart and indie music on stage.
“I have my headphones, and I’m currently listening to ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ by Jeff Buckley. I also got my tote bag and authentic Pop Mart Labubus,” Zuniga said during the competition. “One of my hobbies is going to Pop Mart, if anyone wants to join me.”
Zuniga said she wore her typical, everyday attire for the competition.
“Everybody already tells me I’m performative,” Zuniga said. “I have Labubus, I have keychains, I drink matcha because I like matcha.”
Zuniga secured her win during the final round after successfully recalling and singing the lyrics to Bags by Clairo, a Grammy-nominated indie-pop artist with over 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
“I have no social anxiety; I don’t care what other people think,” Zuniga said. “It was just me and my friends singing.”
Reneja Henderson, a senior communications major and co-winner of the Performative Hornet Contest, said she was excited about participating in the event.
“I saw the post on my Instagram a couple of days ago when I was with my friend, and I was like, ‘I need to do this,’” Henderson said.
Henderson said she almost backed out of the competition after seeing over 1,000 people reshare ASI’s Instagram post promoting the contest. She said that with all the people interacting with the post, Henderson saw no chance of winning the competition at the time.
Henderson said she found inspiration by looking at Gen Z outfit trends online and following her own personal style.
“I am a bisexual baddie,” Henderson said. “So I styled a Marceline shirt and a long denim skirt with platform Ugg boots, which are so Gen Z.”
After the final round, Henderson claimed one of the two crowns for most performative Hornet.
“It was very cool to win,” Henderson said. “I am definitely going to hang this certificate when I get home.” Zuniga and Henderson both received a Sonny Angel blind box, a tote bag and a first place certificate at the end of the competition.
