The Rise of the “Performative Man”: Has Romanticizing Your Life Online Just Become Another Performance?
We have reached a time in our society where we are the most connected with each other than ever. From being able to chat with anyone from anywhere in the world, we are blessed with being able to communicate and connect with one another. It has allowed us to share a part of ourselves to the world that many people would have never seen before. Yet it brings to question what we are showing and even if what we are showing is our authentic self or are we just performing?
Being in an easily connected time where nearly all people are on the internet in one form or another, has opened up how we see certain economic factors play into each other. From women in boutique New York Stores in gentrified communities to men with online courses who drive rental sports cars in Dubai. It is a performance and “expectation” on what quality of life should be. From decades past, one of the only ways of seeing a taste of this was from film, cable tv or magazines. Now we are seeing all types of living standards so easily that it can bring difficulty into how we view our own lifestyles. The way we see these people in these systems act in a way of performing, acting as this is what needs to be aspired to. It then asks us, how do we want to be seen in our life?
We are living in a time where having the choice and opportunity to be able to have independence is a struggle. From financial to housing independence, it is difficult for many to be able to have their own personal freedom. Many people from “Gen Z” to “Millennial” generations are in positions where they cannot be able to have any sort of safety and security in their day-to-day lives. It has resulted in many of us using our online platforms to present our lives to be more picturesque, maybe even find communities.
By trying to take back some independence within our lives it has become something else entirely. By presenting and representing ourselves people tend to use performance to be accepted into these circles. The performative nature of being able to talk about hobbies such as crochet, miniatures, card collecting or reading, has a level of performance within them. It is a performance in which we give to one other so we can all understand each other. No better can this be seen with the trend of the “Performative Man”. The trend was built around being as politically and socially performative to be accepted into a community. While the trend sought to joke about how certain men place themselves in women’s spaces, it has built a sense of community around it. But it also highlights a person’s need to follow a mandatory set of rules in order to be accepted into these communities. Rules that have no foundation or basis in reason but are just amalgamations of things from differing communities.
Although this performance is great it makes you think if this is just a distraction. The way everything is performed online to strangers all over the world. Is it really an honest reflection on your character or is it a culmination of products that you like? No one is denying that community is not important but what is really important is that you don’t lose focus on yourself. It’s important to unplug and remove yourself from spaces that feed unrealistic expectations of what your life “needs to be”.
Written by Niall Carey (@Niall.030)
Edited by Alex Kelleher (@alex_kelleher_)
