One by one, the finest performative males of San Antonio trickle towards 1010 S. Flores St. For the first time ever, the city witnesses its greatest gathering of tote-bag-wearing, feminist-literature-reading and matcha-latte-drinking men desperate for feminine validation. This time, they congregate not to gain the hearts of women, but to compete with each other in San Antonio’s first Performative Male Contest hosted by R+R Collective Co.
The evening sun shines on the storefront, spotlighting the competitors as they sip house-made iced matcha lattes while perusing the vintage clothing and handmade accessories for sale. At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, the crowd migrates to a patio on the corner of South Flores street and West Guenther street.
A group of five women tail the performative males to the patio. They make up the panel of judges for the Performative Male Contest. Among them, one stands out with a “Hatsune Miku” handheld folding fan — Sofia “Taylor” Almendarez.
Taylor, a self-proclaimed performative female, shares what she was seeking in the competitors.
“Someone who listens to Clairo, someone who makes their own matcha, someone who’s willing to hold my space and listen to me. That’s what I was looking for, and anyone who’s cute,” Taylor says.
A plethora of males donning plaid shirts, cropped tops, baggy denim, feminist literature and analog music with wired earbuds make appearances before the judges, but only 10 are selected to continue in the competition.
The remaining sensitive males give speeches to the judges and the audience to prove they are worthy of the title “Most Performative Male of San Antonio.” The round of eliminations immediately following proved to be a tough one for Taylor as she consulted a cigarette to make her decision with the judges.
“Very overwhelming,” Taylor says about judging the contest. “It was so much performativeness — I got overwhelmed very quickly.”
With only five performative males left in the fray, the intensity reached a breaking point. The judges decide on a prompt for the final five to answer, and the audience’s response will decide their fate. They face off in pairs describing women in one word, as requested by the judges, until three remain, but the winner was already clear as day.
The moment Ozell “Ozz” Sabur stepped foot into R+R Collective, it was apparent the UT San Antonio student performs gender in a manner otherwise unrealized by the average male.
Ozz sports a brown striped cat beanie with silver, over-the-ear headphones; shoulder length locs adorned in jewelry lay underneath. Layered over his white buttoned shirt and tie is a dark brown, cable knit sweater vest. His dark wash, wide leg jeans beautifully pair with his black leather loafers. With the hem rolled just above the shoe, his brown striped socks are just barely visible. Ozz’s accessories include multiple rings and bracelets, a large crossbody bag adorned with pins and an acoustic guitar covered in signatures.
With overwhelming cheers from the audience, Ozz wins San Antonio’s first Performative Male Contest. However, the history major with a minor in anthropology claims to be different from the other men in attendance.
“I’m not a performative male; this is a lifestyle for me,” Ozz says. “My favorite feminist literature book? It has to be the one I’m reading right now, ‘One Woman One Vote.’
“I don’t wanna take too much time today speaking because I don’t want to ruin the vibrational plane with the voice of a man, but I love you. I love my Black Queens!”
Ozz is taking home a $50 grand prize, a free shirt from R+R Collective and a free matcha latte from the Performative Male Contest.
“It was a lot bigger of a turnout than I thought, but all the work was worth it. It was really fun,” the contest’s host, Maximus Delgado, says of his experience.
Although not a performative male, Delgado appreciates the potential impact performative males can have.
“I think it can be positive,” Delgado says. “I think it’s cool that guys are getting into feminism and spreading that culture.”
Delgado, who is in charge of planning for R+R Collective’s markets, does not plan on hosting another Performative Male Contest next year. To stay in the loop on their next market, follow R+R Collective on Instagram
