Love matcha? Win free drinks at a ‘performative male’ contest in Pembroke Pines
Do you listen to Clairo? Sip lattes or matcha on park benches with a paperback in hand while wired earbuds conspicuously dangle from your back pocket?
There’s nothing wrong with that. But if that sounds like you or a character you can create, consider checking out this Pembroke Pines event.
Circus-themed mobile cafe Little V’s will host a “performative male contest” on Saturday, March 28, for all those not-so-subtly aiming for a “sensitive and cultured” facade.
The cafe’s truck — located at 701 N. Hiatus Road, outside of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church — will open and serve specialty drinks from 10 a.m. to noon before closing for the contest’s start.
Tickets to enter are $5, and the event’s winner will be awarded custom Little V’s merchandise and a “performative matcha coupon” good for three beverages at the cafe truck.
There are no contest guidelines other than “No drugs. No nudity. No profanity,” per the company’s March 20 Instagram post announcing the event.
What’s a “performative male,” you ask?
Merriam-Webster defines the slang term coined by the Internet in the last year or so as “a man who engages insincerely in certain activities or behaviors to appear safe/sophisticated/feminist and thus appeal to women.”
Internet culture often condenses this “performance” into stereotypically highbrow behaviors like drinking matcha over coffee, opting for wired earphones as an analog alternative to wireless or reading feminist literature.
“The defining characteristic of the performative male is that his choices are less about a genuine interest in music, clothes, books and food and more about external validation,” explains Forbes contributor Kian Bakhtiari in a Sept. 28 think piece on the trend. “A heavily curated and constructed appearance of what other people might find admirable.”
He argues the term is Gen Z’s way of using irony to shield young people’s creative expression from appearing “too much” or “cringe.”
However you feel about it, the trend has proven undeniably popular, drawing hundreds to similar “performative male” contests in metropolises including New York City, Boston, London and Seattle.
Now, it’s southwest Broward’s turn.
Started in September 2025, Little V’s serves specialty teas and espresso-based drinks, often rolling out monthly, themed menu items. Their employees are often seen wearing clown-inspired makeup to keep with the cafe’s theme.
The cafe truck is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, check out Little V’s on Instagram.
