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Having period products in his trousers and a tote bag packed with women's rights books, the competitor felt prepared to compete.

Over the weekend in a central London location, he made his way against two dozen other contestants - and some women with temporary moustaches - in a catwalk contest to find the city's best "theatrical man".

Digital Trend

The online trope includes numerous fashion trends and aesthetic choices, but above all, this type of man is attempting to convey a distinct signal - that he gets your challenges and is ready to listen to you.

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These hygiene products demonstrate his empathy and preparedness to support; the literature indicating he's aware about the structural barriers of traditional gender hierarchies.

The Total Package

The carry-all will have a cute doll attached (he's playful, naturally); the pants will be baggy (comfort rules); the latte will be specialty drink (popular concoctions are for men too); the photographic equipment will use traditional photography (it feels more genuine).

The 22-year-old musician acknowledges possessing some interests that coincide with common perceptions about showy individuals, but doesn't see himself as one. His companions encouraged his involvement in the event.

Event Structure

In the square, cheering onlookers voted for their top participant after they were made to undergo a variety of tests, which covered aspects from explaining their choice of book to delivering heartfelt performances.

The competitor chose one that gained popularity on social media, where videos about this male archetype have been widely liked and shared in the past few weeks.

I learned some ukulele techniques for a Clairo song called Sofia, comments the contestant, who maintains he's genuinely a admirer of the performer.

The book he chose was by novelist Cecelia Ahern. "That particular book is genuinely a excellent book."

Audience Reactions

At a certain moment the young man began distributing flowers to enthusiastic supporters in the crowd. "I often get floral arrangements often, he mentions, be it for my friends - or for my girlfriend."

One of the women in the group - and it was predominantly women - was an observer.

She mentions that the young man's self-possession, which featured playful evasions to tricky questions about female issues, was noticeable above the other performative men.

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He was one that I truly couldn't tell if he was putting on an act, to be like more of a performative male, or if he was acting naturally - but either way he performed excellently.

The young woman, in her early twenties, feels the contestant should truly deserved first place, along with its £25 prize. He came in third.

Deeper Meanings

Even though the participants at the competition were a lighthearted caricature of the styles and mannerisms you see among some young men, the spectator believes there is a underlying motivation why they set themselves apart as they do.

I think they are attempting to visibly demonstrate their rejection of particular viewpoints, she states, that they're not part of the rising population of misogynistic, right-wing, rigid thinkers you see these days.

Contemporary conversations have sounded warnings about particular online figures radicalising boys and adolescent males into profound anti-female attitudes in a way that is quite terrifying.

The young woman believes that, overall, a ideological divide has developed between young men and women and that, for some of the latter, it's particularly significant their romantic interests are certain concerning where they stand on particular value-based and social issues - like abortion, gender equality and gay rights.

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Genuineness Concerns

I'm not going to deny that there's many individuals who choose this appearance just for women's attention, states the contestant, and I believe many individuals are only feigning to do these things even though they're not genuinely concerned in gender equality… mainly for female attraction.

A different female in the crowd was the writer the observer, who found the event quite cleansing.

The event was genuinely excellent, especially for an individual who has been on a date with such a man working to ascertain if he actually considers listing feminist authors was going to lead to intimacy - or if he was being humorous.

Some time back, the observer, who is of color, also began observing males name-dropping black feminists they had encountered during dialogue.

They used to say complete details about Toni Morrison and Kimberlé Crenshaw, as if they had read all their books while locked up during Covid. So it was satisfying to laugh about these ludicrous encounters at the competition.