Last week, Education Week became the latest publication to warn readers of an uptick in violent misogyny being expressed by teenage boys. Over the past several months, teachers in the U.K., Canada, U.S. and elsewhere have reported impacts like a “huge increase in rape jokes” among boys, as well as comments that casually praise men as better than women and refusals to do assignments handed out by a woman because “women should only be housewives.” One teacher reported hearing a student in the playground introduce his girlfriend to a group, and “as soon as she was out of earshot he was asked by several friends if they could ‘have a go’ with her.”
Some teachers and education experts blame this disturbing increase in part on creators like self-described misogynist and online influencer Andrew Tate, who was arrested in December in Romania on charges of organized crime, human trafficking and rape. One of Google’s most searched-for people of 2022, Tate amassed millions of followers on social media — mostly teenage boys and young men — before being banned from Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Among other repugnant statements on social media, Tate has compared women to property, argued that women bear some of the responsibility when they are raped, and bragged about seeking sexual conquests with 18-year-old women because younger women are easier to “make an imprint” on.
Tens of thousands of boys and men — some claiming to be as young as 13 — paid $49.95/month for access to Tate’s content.
Tate covers this hate with an affable, joke-filled delivery style, offered in monthly subscription content promising self-help, money-making and self-improvement tips. Tens of thousands of boys and men — some claiming to be as young as 13 — paid $49.95/month for access to Tate’s content. Performative, chest-thumping masculinity is part of the package: Tate rejects therapy and urges young men to get off the couch and go to the gym, while flaunting…
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