WICKER PARK — This weekend, Wicker Park’s namesake green space was packed with mustached men wielding tote bags, matcha lattes and tattered copies of feminist literature.

And while that might sound like standard fare for the eclectic North Side neighborhood, on Saturday, roughly 80 contestants and hundreds of onlookers attended a competition many caught wind of through a hastily-made flyer that went viral on X and TikTok: a “Performative Male Contest.”

The ‘Performative Male’ archetype lit social media on fire earlier this year, targeting men who pick up traditionally feminine hobbies with the sole intent of cultivating an inauthentic aesthetic that might appeal to progressive women.

Calvin Thai, who runs matcha pop-up homebody with his girlfriend Katie Richcreek, found a spark of inspi

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