Performative Males Will Compete for a Labubu at Cairo Flea Market?

Recently, the notion of “performative male syndrome” - essentially, a man peacocking to attract mates - has been gaining global popularity, with performative male competitions taking place in cities all over the world. The image of a performative male, for both your understanding and your caution, is essentially a man who listens to indie pop, reads feminist literature, drinks matcha and cares about Labubu live. Most importantly, it's a man who overly performs all of the previously mentioned activities and interests. The defining characteristic of performative males is the over-curation of their aesthetic.  Marwan Sallam, a 25-year-old Egyptian commerce graduate who makes parody videos from his bedroom, has decided to hold a summit for performative males at the next edition of Cairo Flea Market, on Saturday, September 20th. “The whole thing started as a joke,” Sallam tells CairoScene. “But a lot of people actually took interest in it, so it became a real thing.” The joke now has a QR code and registration form. The phenomenon of performative male humans signifies a greater cultural shift in dating dynamics, as noted by Instagram User Internet Anthropolog. According to her, men become the performers and women become the audience, rather than the other way around. This shift - albeit small, because women continue to perform their designated gender role regardless - represents a change in the dynamic between men and women in the process of courtship. To Sallam, however, the phenomenon and competition are simply a fun gathering. Sallam describes himself as being “chronically online and deeply engrossed in Western meme culture”, which is why he was surprised by the turnout the competition received from one short video shared on social media. After just two days, the registration form has attracted nearly 60 participants, with more to come. The competition has now evolved to welcome both male and female performative participants, and even non-humans are welcome. “One girl messaged me to ask if her plushie could compete, so now we have a plushie contestant.” To help him brave the task of deciding who the most performative person is at Cairo Flea Market, Sallam has put together a committee of judges. They will meet with the performative contestants at 4 PM, deciding the winners, who will then win respective prizes. First place winner gets EGP 200, a Labubu, and a free album voucher from Mini Vinyl; second place winner gets a CD of their choice and an album voucher from the same shop; and third place winner also gets an album voucher. Non-participants can also enjoy the fruits of others’ performative labour by enjoying 25% off Mini Vinyl’s pre-selected performative album selection. When asked how performative is too performative, Sallam says, “There’s no such thing as too performative. If you think you’re trying too hard, you’re not trying hard enough.” To participate, you can fill out the form in Sallam’s Instagram bio (@marwandoesstuff) or simply scan the QR code at the Cairo Flea Market on September 20th.