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Who's Afraid of the Performative Male?

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  Published in Automotive and Transportation on Monday, September 29th 2025 at 12:31 GMT by Her Campus
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Who’s Afraid of the Performative Male?
A Critical Look at Gender, Power, and Performance in Contemporary Culture

Her Campus’s feature “Who’s Afraid of the Performative Male?” (published on the University of Windsor campus site) dives deep into the contemporary discourse surrounding masculinity, power, and the ways in which the male body is shaped—and reshaped—by cultural norms. The article opens with a provocative question: If masculinity is “performed” rather than a fixed essence, how do the structures of privilege that underpin it remain intact? The piece uses a mix of scholarly theory, cultural criticism, and real‑world examples to argue that performative gender, especially male performativity, is a site of both resistance and reinforcement.

1. Theoretical Foundations

The writer begins by unpacking two foundational concepts that frame the discussion:

1. Judith Butler’s Performative Gender – Butler’s seminal work Gender Trouble posits that gender is not an innate identity but a series of repeated acts that create the illusion of a stable self. The article emphasizes how Butler’s theory turns gender from a natural trait into a socially constructed routine that is constantly re‑performed. This reframing is crucial for understanding how male bodies are coerced into certain norms—athletic, stoic, dominant—through repeated cultural practices.

2. Michel Foucault’s Power‑Knowledge – The piece uses Foucault’s notion that power is not only top‑down but diffused through everyday practices and discourses. The male body is a “technically skilled subject” that can be trained and disciplined into particular modes of conduct, reinforcing hierarchies even when no explicit law dictates it.

By combining Butler’s performativity with Foucault’s power analysis, the article demonstrates how gendered expectations are both performative and politically productive.

2. The “Performative Male” in Popular Media

The article examines how mainstream media and popular culture contribute to the performative male image:

• Sports and the “Strongman” Ideal – The author cites athletes like Dwayne Johnson and Serena Williams (in reference to her own “strong woman” narrative, showing the fluidity of performativity). Johnson’s public persona reinforces the idea that masculinity is synonymous with muscle and charisma, which in turn becomes a template for boys who watch him grow up.

• Film & Television – The writer analyzes the “hero” archetype in Hollywood: protagonists who solve problems through violence, resilience, and stoic leadership. Even when characters break stereotypes (e.g., The Boys’ “Pope” who shows vulnerability), the underlying narrative still demands a performative, almost transactional masculinity.

• Social Media Influencers – The article highlights how male influencers often present themselves through carefully curated content that celebrates physical prowess, dating, and entrepreneurship. The performative aspect is not just what is shown but how often it is repeated, thus reinforcing a cycle of consumption and aspiration.

The author argues that these examples illustrate the ways in which performative masculinity is not just an individual choice but a societal script that individuals are expected to follow.

3. Intersectionality and the Limits of “Performative” Masculinity

The piece then broadens its scope by bringing intersectionality into the conversation. It references Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersecting oppressions to illustrate how performative masculinity cannot be understood in isolation from race, class, sexuality, or disability. The author highlights several case studies:

• Black Masculinity – Drawing on the works of scholars like Michael Kimmel and bell hooks, the article discusses how Black men navigate both patriarchal expectations and the criminalization of their bodies in the United States. The performative male is a double bind: to fit mainstream masculinity they may feel pressure to deny Black masculinity’s particularities, yet they risk being racialized and criminalized.

• Queer and Trans Masculinity – The writer references scholars such as R.W. Connell and Michael P. Lynch, focusing on how queer men perform masculinity differently. For example, a queer male may deliberately subvert the “masculine” aesthetic to signal a more fluid identity or to resist heteronormative expectations.

• Economic Status – The article highlights how working‑class men often perform masculinity through displays of labor and toughness, a behavior that is both a survival strategy and a reinforcement of class hierarchy. This performance is not simply about personal identity but about signaling economic resilience in a neoliberal market.

By weaving these examples together, the article shows how performative masculinity is a “one‑size‑fits‑all” narrative that fails to account for the lived realities of men who inhabit multiple social positions.

4. Resistance, Subversion, and the Future

The final section of the piece moves beyond critique to explore how people resist or subvert the performative male:

• Body Positivity and Athletic Diversity – The writer notes how athletes who do not conform to the “ideal body”—for instance, the NFL’s Antonio Brown who has been praised for his “athleticism” over his “look”—are redefining masculinity. Brown’s own social media narrative—focusing on skill and community service—provides an alternative performative script.

• The Rise of “Gentlemen’s Movements” – The article references the *“gentleman” movement, which emphasizes empathy, emotional intelligence, and domestic labor as essential components of masculinity. This shift offers an alternative to the performative male’s stoic and competitive narrative.

• Academic Activism – The piece ends by quoting contemporary scholars who argue that re‑educating society about gender performativity requires both curricular reforms and community-based projects that bring critical theory into everyday life. The author invites students, readers, and faculty to engage in such conversations and to examine the ways in which they perform gender in their own lives.

5. Links and Further Reading

The article itself links to a number of scholarly works and cultural resources that deepen the reader’s understanding:

• Judith Butler’s "Gender Trouble" (1989) – a foundational text on gender performativity.
• Michel Foucault’s "Discipline and Punish" (1975) – offers insights into power structures that shape gender.
• Michael Kimmel’s “The Gender Knot” (2008) – explores masculinity and its intersection with social identity.
• bell hooks’s “The Will to Change” (2004) – provides critical perspectives on Black masculinity and gender roles.
• The Film “The Boys” (2019) – a critical look at masculinity in media.
• Social Media Influencer “Dwayne Johnson’s” YouTube series, as an example of performative masculinity.

These sources are cross‑referenced with additional scholarly articles on the website, encouraging readers to explore beyond the article’s immediate scope.

Conclusion

Who’s Afraid of the Performative Male? is a thoughtful, academically grounded article that invites readers to question the assumptions embedded in the notion of “masculinity as performance.” By combining theoretical frameworks, cultural examples, and intersectional critique, the piece offers a multi‑dimensional look at how men navigate power structures and societal expectations. The call to action—engage, question, and re‑imagine the scripts of gender—makes it a timely read for anyone interested in the evolving conversation around masculinity, privilege, and identity.