{"id":169856,"date":"2025-08-23T19:13:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T19:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/169856\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T19:13:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T19:13:18","slug":"a-i-is-detecting-san-franciscos-performative-males","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/169856\/","title":{"rendered":"A.I. is detecting San Francisco&#8217;s \u2018performative males\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/support-our-publication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755976392_636_ML-Fundraising-2024-1-930x620.jpg\" alt=\"Comic strip showing a newspaper's various reader engagement methods: in the park, drive-in, print delivery, and data visualization online.\" class=\"wp-image-668615\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read Mission Local often?<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Help <strong>grow our newsroom<\/strong>, joining the hundreds of San Franciscans who support us by giving below.<\/p>\n<p>What does a \u201cperformative male\u201d look like? Well according to the thousands of attendees crowded into Alamo Square Park on Friday evening, they are all too often roaming the streets of San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA man that dresses for the female gaze, projecting feminine energy to get women,\u201d said attendees AJ and Mayliah. \u201cThey\u2019re probably from LA, because they ran through all the women there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A \u201cperformative male\u201d is not performing masculinity, but rather, performing femininity to manipulate women into thinking they aren\u2019t like other guys. They drink matcha or are a coffee snob, they collect analog media like vinyl, CDs or cassettes and they wear thrifted cardigans!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755976393_248_mission-local-logo-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Mission Local logo, with blue and orange lines on the shape of the Mission District\" class=\"wp-image-639216\" style=\"width:150px\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our <strong>free daily newsletter<\/strong> below.<\/p>\n<p>You can find them at your local small coffee shop, virtue signaling with their choice of feminist literature: is that Jane Austen or Jane Eyre? They are hyper-trendy and yet don\u2019t claim their 8+ hour screentime \u2014 and they\u2019ve become the internet\u2019s newest punching bag.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Propped in front of the Painted Ladies \u2013 more than the 1,600 RSVPS who responded to the call, gathered to determine, along with an AI model and a panel of women, San Francisco\u2019s most \u201cperformative male.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With the attendees dressed in their first-date best you\u2019d think Clairo was putting on a private show at the park. It was too crowded to see the panel of judges or the actual contest, but you really didn\u2019t need to. Everywhere you looked there were hundreds of canvas tote bags, CD collections on display, Labubus, Miffys and speakers blasting Charli XCX \u2014 performativity at its finest.<\/p>\n<p>The look-alike contest was the brainchild of young women Alisa Wu, Kake Jin, Jia Chen, Morgan Hoong, BuiltbyBlair and twins Jenny and Chrissy S. \u2014 some San Francisco tech transplants and others summer interns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our gift to the city before we leave,\u201d said Wu, who will be returning to the University of Waterloo in the coming weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What sets this look-alike contest apart? Its preliminary AI detection round with a custom-built model \u2014 an aspect that is as inherently San Francisco as male performativity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The AI model was fed data of Labubus, matcha lattes, platform shoes, flared pants, headphones, feminist literature like Simone de Beauvoir\u2019s The Second Sex and female empowerment Instagram story content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All contestants uploaded photos of themselves to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.performative.lol\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">performative.lol<\/a> where the model weeded out the poser from the performative \u2014 or anybody who showed up with a Labubu or book.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The contest promised free matcha, and while there was no fountain of matcha in this performative promise land \u2014\u00a0 all contestants received gift cards from their partner, Kiss of Matcha.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re so performative dude, you\u2019re for sure winning,\u201d a young guy tells his performatively-dressed friend, hyping him up for the contest to come. \u201cI\u2019ve seen Mitski live, this is not a performance,\u201d said the contestant, anxiously awaiting the panel to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some contestants defined male performativity as simply as \u201chating period cramps,\u201d while others monologued about their outfits and subsequent style \u2014 which was not at all performative.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While the majority of contestants interpreted \u201cperformative male\u201d as the meme archetype of a poser indie boy, another dressed up in an Anime-style maid costume with a blue wig, serving his own matcha (of course).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the idea of the performative male is to go against the Sigma-Alpha male, then what\u2019s more performative than a pre-second wave image of the woman itself,\u201d said the male wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"A person with curly hair reads a book titled &quot;Feminism&quot; while holding a drink, standing outdoors among a crowd near Victorian-style houses on a cloudy day.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782466\" data-id=\"782466\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9862-853x640.jpg\"  \/>A classic take on \u201cperformative males\u201d with feminism at the forefront. Photo by Jordan Montero.<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"A person holds a fishing rod with a stuffed animal hanging from the line in front of a crowd at a park, with Victorian houses in the background.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782468\" data-id=\"782468\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9850-853x640.jpg\"  \/>Gone fishing for women. Photo by Jordan Montero. <\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"Person wearing a blue wig and black-and-white maid costume holding a green drink, standing outdoors in front of a crowd on grass.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782465\" data-id=\"782465\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9870-853x640.jpg\"  \/>A different, perhaps more camp interpretation of \u201cmale performativity.\u201d Photo by Jordan Montero. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"\/><\/p>\n<p>While waiting for their turn, some attempted backflips out of boredom while others taped \u201cFuture is Female\u201d onto their T-shirts. Some were chatting up the girls who came as spectators while others brought a fishing line with a Labubu hooked to the end, bobbing it up and down over the crowd to fish out the strongest suitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After the weak links were eliminated from the performativity pool, the contest hosts acted as the judging panel, bringing contestants up one by one and rated their performativity ala the Roblox game, Dress to Impress, with a star rating system.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Look-alike contests have been popular across the country for the past year \u2014 starting with a Timothee Chalamet look-alike contest in New York and making its way to San Francisco just last year with the city\u2019s search for its own <a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/2024\/11\/hundreds-gather-at-to-crown-dev-patel-lookalike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dev Patel<\/a>. \u201cPerformative male\u201d contests are making their way down the West Coast too, with preceding contests in Seattle and Silverlake, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>The winning \u201cperformative male\u201d was none other than James Bennett \u2014 a San Francisco native and UC Berkeley graduate. Bennett was sporting his usual look: baggy jeans down to the ground, a tote bag, a thrifted cardigan, yellow Onitsuka Tigers from Japan and a matcha in hand. The costumed pieces? A Kangol hat, cropped Uniqlo button up, wired headphones draped over his ears and a Labubu he borrowed from his mom.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s ecstatic and overwhelming,\u201d said Bennett, swarmed by adoring fans pleading for photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t villainize men enjoying feminine things,\u201d said Bennett.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day if they actually read that [feminist literature], it\u2019s overall a net positive,\u201d continued Bennett, a former Philosophy major, which he agreed was \u201cabsofuckinglutely performative.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"Two people stand outdoors in a park, smiling and holding tote bags and drinks, with other people and buildings visible in the background.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782452\" data-id=\"782452\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9931-853x640.jpg\"  \/>Look-alike winner James Bennett (right) taking a photo with a fan(left). Photo by Jordan Montero. <\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"Six teenagers stand together outside on grass, each wearing handmade signs with messages; an apartment building and other people are visible in the background.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782456\" data-id=\"782456\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9899-853x640.jpg\"  \/>Slogans like \u201cFuture is Female\u201d and \u201cI hate periods\u201d taped on shirts. Photo by Jordan Montero. <\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"640\" alt=\"A group of people outdoors, some raising their arms and holding phones, while others wear headphones. Victorian-style houses are visible in the background.\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-782454\" data-id=\"782454\" data-aspect-ratio=\"853 \/ 640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_9919-853x640.jpg\"  \/>Celebrating Bennett\u2019s win by blasting Laufey. Photo by Jordan Montero. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Support the Mission Local team<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"623\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755976397_721_dolores2-edit-930x623.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people posing outdoors with a city skyline in the background on a sunny day.\" class=\"wp-image-662510\"  \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size:17px\">We&#8217;re a small, <strong>independent, nonprofit newsroom<\/strong> that works hard to bring you news you can&#8217;t get elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size:17px\">In 2025, we have a lofty goal: 5,000 donors by the end of the year \u2014 more than double the number we had last year.\u00a0We are 20 percent of the way there: <strong>Donate today and help us reach our goal!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"259\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755976398_963_ml-donors-930x259.png\" alt=\"A group of illustrated people of various ages and genders stands in rows; six figures in the first row are highlighted in Mission Local\u2019s signature pink, while the rest are shaded gray.\" class=\"wp-image-772669\"  \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Read Mission Local often? Help grow our newsroom, joining the hundreds of San Franciscans who support us by&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":169857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[691,738,5312,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-169856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-parks","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115079676385488893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}