The new ‘performative’ trend has blown up recently on social media. Listening to the artist Clairo, drinking matcha green tea and wearing baggy jeans and Chrome Hearts are now considered performative by the internet.
Being “performative” typically means someone who adopts specific interests in order to appear trendy and stylish, which is often associated with adopting the latest fashion and music trends. So let’s take a look at some of the most performative students at WJ, members of the newly formed Performative Club.
Seniors Paul Do and Aidan Li are the co-presidents of the Performative Club. Together, they established the club after seeing the number of people interested in joining after polling their interest. They were able to amass many signatures from people interested in joining and gained over 230 Instagram followers in just a few weeks.
“I wanted to start Performative Club because I felt like our school didn’t have a place where all of the performative people could gather and form a community and show love to Clairo and Laufey and other artists,” Do said.
The co-presidents view being performative as being a part of a community and a chance to branch out into different types of music and clothing styles. Performativism can also include delving into feminist literature and other important topics.
“I wanted people to be aware of niche music and wanted to spread awareness for mental health, “ Li said. “I just wanted to make sure people know about all of these important things, like feminist literature, that aren’t talked about enough at Walter Johnson.”
The idea of being performative has gotten a lot of attention online. While some people are made fun of for outwardly appearing this way, many see being performative as a good thing that can be helpful in various ways.
“I think being performative is a good thing, because it brings people together, and it forces you to listen to more music, read more books and dress better, so I think overall it can be beneficial to everyone,” Do said.
The club does not require its members to already be performative. In fact, it is open to all and includes many aspiring performers.
“I heard about the club from the officers themselves, and I really like the concept of being performative. I think it’s inspirational,” club member, senior Aman Patel said.
There’s a lot more to being performative than meets the eye. It’s essentially a combination of different fashion, music and even beverage selections. This club looks to find people who have interests in some of those niches and attempt to form a community.
“I think the performative club is great and I’m really looking forward to our matcha-making session and getting more performative,” Patel said.
Performative Club holds meetings in room 232 every other week at lunch on Fridays and is always looking for new members.
