With the recent arrest and looming trial of the Tate brothers, what better time than now to evaluate how we got to the point where people (virtually) shout for the liberation of alleged human traffickers? For those unaware, a police raid of the Romanian residence of popular internet personality Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, ended with the two in custody on human trafficking charges. That situation, while in and of itself controversial, is the first bottle of wine produced from grapes that have been fermenting for years. The vineyard has been filled with internalized self-hate, explicit sexism, and unhealthy coping mechanisms, where “self-actualization” goes hand-in-hand with greed. In society’s constant pursuit of more, this is the story of how we have regressed.
Where do I begin the description of the polarizing Andrew Tate? “Internet persona” does him little justice, as he has become a cult-like figure to a growing group of emotionally dejected and lost men. Preaching financial stability through wealth creation, as well as providing perspectives on how men should treat women, Andrew is praised by his fans for his ability to be forthcoming and blunt with his opinions. Andrew harps on two things younger men tend to struggle with, that often go hand-in-hand to undermine any confidence they may have had: money and romance.
While Andrew may be a noteworthy kingpin of the ideals of modern masculinity, the roots and branches of this movement extend far beyond one man. Society has seen shifts in its emphasis of masculinity, with the mid-twentieth century being a recent period where masculinity and structured gender roles were at their height. Then, in line with the newly minted voting rights of women, and the increased involvement of women in the workforce, masculinity lost its footing. As more women became primary or secondary financial providers, the see-saw shifted to decrease the societal value of masculinity, and gender roles became less strict. With women possessing a stronger voice than ever, the late twentieth century and twenty-first century saw a rise in feminism, which often goes against antiquated ideas of familial roles and gender differences. It is here that we find the most recent block in the road.
In response to perceived attacks on masculinity and the weakening of traditional gender roles, modern masculinity has embraced, quite bluntly, an anti-woman approach. Devaluation of women into strictly physical objects, “us versus them” attitudes, and resentment towards the alleged advantages of being a woman, have all manifested themselves in the underbelly of the philosophy of masculinity. There is implicit desire to return to mid-twentieth century societal views, and to undercut the progress made towards equality. The mindset goes far beyond simply returning to society as it was decades ago, however. Rather, it posits physical and character attributes that women would be “better off” possessing. For example, the current prevalence of tattoos have caused some to proclaim that a woman’s physical appearance is made worse, categorically, by the existence of tattoos on her body. Other examples include being less vulgar as a woman, wanting to do household chores, and more. At the crux of it all lies the idea that women have regressed in terms of who they are, to the point where men feel as though their place in society has been weakened. After all, what value does someone who only provides income bring when their partner can also bring in that same income? So, rather than adapting to the shift in societal roles, those who subscribe to modern masculinity idealize a return to a fleeting culture (at least in North America).
Given the prominence of social media and dissolving barriers between opinion and fact, becoming indoctrinated into a radical worldview happens to many. As a tool, social media often feeds into the negative emotions of its users and spits out algorithmic “help” to quell users’ fears, and allow them to feel as though they are growing and developing as a person. If the user feels as though their masculinity is being challenged by a rise in feminist ideologies, they seek out content that grounds them, and provides a shield to their self-esteem. What has been conflated in recent years is the erroneously radical nature of feminism. Sure, there are outliers who preach anti-male sentiments, but that portion is relatively tiny to the wider-held perspective that feminism exists to equalize a traditionally unequal dynamic. Rather than understanding that, those who hold radical views of masculinity scapegoat a radical version of feminism to push back against initiatives and values that equalize the genders. Think about how many different male dating-advice podcasts there are, and then look at the ones gaining the most attention. In an age where controversy equals virality, it is no wonder that a lot of these podcasts posit knee-jerk aggressive stances towards women. For example, Fresh & Fit has its two hosts bring on local women to discuss topics of masculinity and gender conformity. Without the sugar coating and diplomacy, these podcasts effectively hide deeply misogynistic views behind the veil of personal betterment. Double standards are frequent between the genders, and they are taken for granted amongst the hosts of these podcasts and pages. The eyebrow-raising that onlookers engage in when listening to the things being said undoubtedly works in the hosts’ favour. Agree or disagree, by listening, you continue the conversation and bring attention to their ideas. Hence, the vicious loop of radical stances and regression of socially accepted ideals is perpetuated.
Any piece of content is only as dangerous as the worth its consumer ascribes to it, as most of us can glance at something, frown in displeasure, and continue on with our days. The problem becomes tangible, however, when the consumer becomes invested in what is being said and formulates their worldview around a specific area of focus. For example, if someone truly believes, and has been fed the repeated idea that women only seek out partners who have a lot of money, they will begin to change their financial outlook on life and alter adjacent habits. Rather than using free time to unwind, these people may use free time to pursue secondary business ventures (colloquially known as “side hustles”) in hopes of financial betterment. While on its face this may seem like a positive thing, it can have negative repercussions, as everything has an opportunity cost. While there may be more financial benefits flowing from this decision, the same person may now be more irritable because they have compounded their stressors without a balancing of relaxants. The issue comes from the emphasis some people place on their worldview, and structuring their lives around it. This is especially pertinent when the person believes their worldview is the correct one, and that all competing ones are inherently wrong. As such, the room for dialogue shrinks and the person becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, trapped in an echo chamber of like minded individuals.
As a result, many have subscribed to the new misogynistic masculinity of the twenty-first century, where men are to be held above women. This, in turn, paints their other beliefs and habits, making them generally less likable to those outside of their circle, self-fulfilling their prophecy of loneliness and vapid lifestyle. It is unfortunate, not so much for the people who subscribe to these ideologies, but for the people around them. The way they treat people will be in line with the way they view people, and the women in their lives will be treated worse. This creates a further disparity between the male and female genders and runs counter to the progress made towards equality, inciting resentment. This is an issue that has seen tumour-like growth in recent years, and leads to people like Andrew Tate gaining platforms from which to disseminate harmful ideologies and regress societal perspectives on key topics.
So, what is the solution? With social media reducing the cost of entry for anyone to have a platform, there is an emphasis on content filtration. This is evidenced by the various algorithms of social media platforms that promote certain creators or types of videos when they see the user indulges in similar content. That, however, is a double-edged sword, as the more someone consumes a particular niche, the more that niche prepopulates their discovery pages, regurgitating the same information and pushing the user deeper into the rabbit hole. The real solution lies within the user themselves. As the user takes in more of the same content, it is ultimately up to them to say: “No thank you, I am completely full. In fact, I am never coming back to this restaurant again.” Perpetuating the same misogynistic views is easy, as it seems that those around you validate your opinions because that is all you see. Thinking critically to assess whether or not it makes sense to hold those views is the impetus for change by way of internal re-assessment.
That being said, that is also a naïve solution, as it implies that most are able to recognize their harmful worldviews. There is nothing stronger than the false feeling of being oppressed, as it has been the foundation for modern masculinity views, and getting out of that self-pity and self-wallowing is a time-consuming effort that requires holistic perspective-taking and relativity, something that is not particularly preached by the aforementioned influencers. The unfortunate truth is that these radical views will ramp in popularity in the coming years, as more influencers become popular within the space. After all, the target audience for these kinds of views theoretically makes up fifty per cent of the planet’s population, so there is never a shortage of willing consumers.
Ultimately, rather than inciting an “us versus them” mentality, maybe the focus should be on looking internally, and wondering why the growth of feminism creates such a vocal huff-and-puff for some men. An equalization of genders does nothing to impact me, and may in fact be positive as it changes some unfavourable dynamics, such as traditional reliance on the man as the sole breadwinner, which created imbalanced relationships premised on financial control. The misogynistic views that many adopt under the guise of male-empowerment do nothing more than stunt progress, and ironically, incite a narrative that goes against men for acting that way. Hopefully I am wrong, and the trend of misogynistic masculinity goes down the drain, as it is quite simply just embarrassing to look at.
