Andrew Tate and the rise in misogyny

The 36-year-old British-American kickboxing world champion, who grew up in Luton and denies any wrongdoing, shot to fame rapidly and unexpectedly last summer – not for his recent arrest or previous sporting achievements, but for his controversial online presence.

Read more: Andrew Tate ‘detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking and rape’

His videos are a mixture of motivation degradation. He often calls his followers ‘peasants’, while regularly showing himself waving cigars, standing beside fast cars, and in tropical places.

The machismo aesthetic paid off – Tate quickly amassed millions of followers across multiple platforms, and on TikTok his videos had been watched over 11.6 billion times at one point last summer.

However, they also include misogynistic comments and, at times, direct reference to perpetrating violence against women.

According to the influencer, a woman – using his sister as an example – ‘is her husband’s property’, teens are preferable to date because they are ‘fresh’ and he ‘can leave his imprint’ on them to ‘make them a good person’.

And should a woman question his fidelity, it is ‘bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck’; comments which eventually saw him banned from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter – although quickly regaining his account when Elon Musk took over the latter platform.

Worryingly, these incidents were not the first time he had shown concerning attitudes towards women and gender-based violence.

Tate was previously ejected from the Big Brother house in 2016, because of a video showing him hitting a woman with a belt – an act he says was consensual – emerging online. Only a couple of years later, commenting on the #MeToo movement, he said women should take some responsibility for getting raped.

Read more: Greta Thunberg suggests Twitter spat and pizza jibe led to Andrew Tate’s arrest

One of the problems with persons such as Tate becoming so popular is that their views are consumed more and become normalised, making it harder to push back against them.

This is already visible. Teachers from UK schools have voiced their fear after a rise in popularity of his videos on social media sites used by pupils, resulting in a change in behaviour in their classrooms.

In an article for education publication TES, assistant headteacher Mark Roberts details teachers' experiences of dealing with male students ‘under Tate’s influence’ – including a 14-year-old boy telling a peer to ignore a female teacher to ‘put her in her place.’

Moreover, female teachers say they face challenges in addressing the issue with pupils, because male colleagues who support Tate’s messaging, or say they have ‘read too much into boys’ comments.’

I have noticed it even in my own circle. As recent as last weekend, a friend showed me her messages in a group chat where she was arguing against someone who was making the case for Tate.

“He’s trying to wind me up,” she said: “They think it’s funny.” Only another woman came to her defence.

Andrew Tate became famous online through his exaggerated machismo persona, utilising cigars, fast cars and other supposed signals of masculinity (Image: Newsquest)

The thing is: for many women it is not. Women, particularly since the #MeToo movement and even more since the murder of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa and others, have been calling for societal change for years – yet instead we are too often faced with damaging attitudes being condoned instead of challenged.

Only last week, Glasgow University student Ellie Wilson spoke about how a fellow student awaiting trial for raping her was expelled from the institution, only to then be allowed to enrol at the University of Edinburgh – despite the latter allegedly being aware of the charges.

Women cannot speak up and fight against such entrenched societal attitudes alone. To really address the rise in misogyny through online celebrities like Tate, more men need to speak up against other men, and institutions need to review their biases that could see sexual violence supported rather than eliminated.

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As a result of reporting on the effect Andrew Tate has had on young children in UK schools, Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak what his government is doing ‘to tackle this misogyny and incel culture and the radicalisation of young men in this country’, and whether he will be supporting teachers during Prime Minister’s Questions last Wednesday.

Mr Sunak didn't address the fallout from the Andrew Tate issue, but instead referred to £2 billion funding going towards schools, and the Online Safety Bill – due to be talked about in Parliament today.

Replying to the Prime Minister’s comments, a representative for Women’s Aid said: “There is no time for ambiguity from the government. The rise of misogyny is terrifying and it needs to be addressed now. Domestic abuse is a spectrum deeply rooted in misogyny. If the system doesn't set the tone, we will keep losing more women.”

And they are right. There really is no time for ambiguity. The rise of Andrew Tate has shown how quickly damaging views can become mainstream and reach a whole new generation.

It is time for all of us to take a stand challenging such attitudes – not just women and charities supporting them, but men, organisations and the government.

We can no longer afford silence.

Daniella Theis is Scottish Student Journalist of the Year