Loud and Proud: the Rise of the Sassy Man Apocalypse
Welcome back, Pookie Bears! Your favorite Boomerang FT. trio is back with a new hot topic. After looking into the art of slow living and embracing your inner child last month, this month we’re discussing something less peaceful – the Sassy Man Apocalypse. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Big Pookie of Pookie Nation
It all started in 2023 when Prayag Mishra (@444pray) rose to fame over a few short months, quickly gaining dominance over everyone’s for-you-pages. His sassy comebacks, expressive body language, and behavior that some might call “extra” are what caught the attention of over 6 million users, or, as he calls them, pookies, across TikTok and Instagram. The 25-year-old Canadian, who now refers to himself as the Big Pookie of Pookie Nation, films videos mainly in the front seat of his car, mimicking the warmth of a FaceTime call. Using singular second-person pronouns and establishing a rather intimate vibe in his short videos, Prayag uses his platform to embrace his sassy nature. “If it was up to me, I would have chosen to be nonchalant and sexy. God wanted me to be loud and sassy,” — the creator confesses in one of his most viral videos with over 3.7 million likes.
Gotta be having Déjà Vu
Once you check out Prayag’s content and hear his words of wisdom, his videos might feel strangely familiar. No, it is not a déjà vu. Once you are in close proximity to a man, it becomes evident how universal Prayag’s content is. So it’s no surprise that since Prayag’s rise to fame, the Internet has been flooded with videos of everyday examples of sassy men. People started to share the mannerisms and comments of the men around them saying that they became “victims of the Sassy Man Apocalypse”. As expected, the movement’s relatability turned it into a trend, which attracted all kinds of reactions.
“God wanted me to be loud and sassy”
Toxic vs Sassy
Prayag’s comment section is divided — some find his content highly entertaining, while others are more critical of it. The trend’s supporters often point out how it encourages men to connect with their emotional side. A lot of them also mention how they relate to Prayag’s content by calling it “real”, which is Gen Z for “agreed”. However, some have a problem with grown men sulking, begging for attention, or “princess treatment” like being in the passenger seat. Many call out men participating in this trend for being not “manly” enough, labeling such behavior as feminine. But if you think about it, is it really feminine, or does it simply go against the toxic stereotypical portrayal of a straight man? If you think about it, the Sassy Man Apocalypse is an antithesis of what the Internet is slowly healing from — the alpha male movement.
Andrew Tate proudly reigned over an online epidemic of toxic masculinity, perpetuating the idea that men should fit the standard gender stereotypes promoting dominance. Men like Prayag are leading the rebellion against it (maybe that’s why it’s called an apocalypse). And we are loving it, it is a breath of fresh air after a wave of aggressive propaganda of testosterone. While some men might call the sassiness “feminine”, some women still find it attractive.
You need to calm down
In our fully professional opinion, the Sassy Man Apocalypse should be taken as a joke — at the end of the day, it’s not that deep. It should be about expressing yourself however you want to. We, as a generation, should embrace self-expression without being too judgemental about the subliminal messages. So the Sassy Man Apocalypse trend and its reception pushes us to pay extra attention to how impactful toxic masculinity is, and how social media can shape the perception of gender identity.
In the words of the great contemporary philosopher Harry Edward Styles: “Treat people with kindness”.
Well, that was our unorthodox way of wrapping up the Women’s History Month. Let us know if you have any suggestions or topics that we could write about next. See ya in April!
Yours truly, Trend Cult by Boomerang FT.
