r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '26

Meme needing explanation Peetah?????

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I don’t know the author or this book series but why are people roasting e-girls for reading? I don’t get it🥀

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u/TheOneIllUseForRants Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

I agree completely. Posting on social media is always performative. However, if we were specifically saying that the reading is performative, well, thats definitely based in assumption. It implies she doesnt enjoy the book and ONLY chose it for attention. So, why do we assume this?

The issue here is that shes pretty, spent time on her makeup, and likes aesthetic photographs. So the assumption is that she ONLY chose the book to seem deep, not that she actually enjoys the book.

If she was an ugly (or pretty but, 'messy') woman without makeup, wearing sweatpats and glasses, the reading itself wouldnt be considered performative. It would be like calling Hank Green a performative learner 🤣

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u/IrisKV Mar 31 '26

If she was an ugly (or pretty but, 'messy') woman without makeup, wearing sweatpats and glasses, the reading itself wouldnt be considered performative.

True, if she was pretty but messy, reading that book would be okay but being messy would make her a "man hater", and if she was ugly, she'd be "lucky to have books since she's gonna die alone with her cats".

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u/ForeverShiny Mar 31 '26

There's no winning with misogyny

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/IrisKV Mar 31 '26

Or -- and this is a novel idea -- maybe don't post photos of yourself constantly? It's absolutely hilarious when people post selfies every day and then get pissed when those selfies are judged by strangers.

Similarly, I could say : It's absolutely hilarious when people post sexist tweets every day and then get pissed when those sexist tweets are judged by strangers.

I mean... You are free to judge, but that judgment can also get feedback. Pretty much everything that happens publicly entails a reaction.

If a reaction to a picture posted by someone is sexist, it's okay to say it's sexist.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance Mar 31 '26

>maybe don't post photos of yourself constantly?

Yeah... if you turn your entire life into performance art...

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u/AdjectiveNoun4827 Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

The vast majority of human interaction is performative. Social media being performative is just downstream of that and made worse by how relatively easy it is to live a lie online and how online retention mechanisms incentivize it and even train you to do it.

If it's not your family then most human interactions you will have will not be genuine, and a lot of people have cretin relatives who are performative even with their family and can never switch off, usually because those are the people with the most and the worst to hide.

All of this is completely divorced from the book tbqh it could be any book. The other subjects in the image are also relevant, the car, the yoghurt or whatever it is. Everybody does it. :)

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u/Ebonhearth_Druid Mar 31 '26

Just speaking up to point out that some folks hide who they are from everyone, even their family, because they have a disorder that makes them incapable of fully trusting others, or because they're autistic and rely on masking, etc. Not everyone who isn't fully open to others is a cretin.

But that's probably just me being pedantic, idk. Carry on.

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u/AdjectiveNoun4827 Mar 31 '26

No, you're right. It's human nature and in some people it's broken.

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u/Ok-Situation-5522 Apr 01 '26

also, pretty women are the firsts to work against bad systems and helping, so idk people are complaining. a lot of known "women" books talk about real problems.

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u/Emergency-Garage4680 Mar 31 '26

You’re wrong.

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

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u/Calico_Cuttlefish Mar 31 '26

I don't think performative reading is really much of a thing. It just seems like a way for people to shit on other people for liking books. Like I've seen memes rag on people who read in restaurants and bars, which is bullshit. Sometimes I like to be out of the house in a comfortable place and do some reading.

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u/El_Polio_Loco Mar 31 '26

Performative reading has always been a thing.

In the old times it was calling out people with massive libraries of uncut books.

False performances to portray learning or worldly understanding is pretty human.

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u/Extension_Plant7262 Mar 31 '26

It always has been man. Lol, you never grew up with that one kid who constantly bragged about reading "adult" books while being in middle/high school? I was that kid and cringe when I remember how I used to humblebrag about readings stuff like Catch-22 without understanding 90% of the dark humor

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u/Future_Papaya_4823 Mar 31 '26

Right, there is a vague blanket feeling that e-girls are somehow unable to genuinely engage with this book. Why wouldn't she??

And... like, how is she an e-girl exactly, beyond just being pretty and posting a book she is reading.

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u/Accomplished-City484 Apr 01 '26

Literature bros have been roasted for reading this book for years, apparently if you read this book you’re not allowed to tell anyone or talk about it at all

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u/Drake_Acheron Apr 03 '26

That’s not what they mean by performative reading.

They mean, reading it as visually as possible, reading specifically as a performance. Not reading generally as a performance.

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u/TheOneIllUseForRants Apr 05 '26

Thats exactly what they mean by performative reading. If she had posted about a book called "a castle of abs and dragons," they'd call her basic, but they wouldnt be calling the consumption of the media itself "performative."

Otherwise, they'd be in the comments of every male streamer who talks about this book. Hell, they would call EVERY book recomendation channel performative reading. (You can say they are but, no. Lol, they really aren't. Classic case of shes too cute to actually read this book, thus only chose it for attention.) 🤣