By now, the saga of Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg is well-known and literally reads like a page-turning thriller. The former Kickboxing World Champion, Andrew Tate, launched an unprovoked attack on environmental activist, Greta Thunberg on Twitter, who 24 hours later responded with - “yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com”.
The ‘manosphere’ influencer predictably had a meltdown on Twitter. He immediately responded with a “How dare you” and amplified posts where his loyal followers called her names and indicated that what she craved was to be f***ed by Tate. Without seeming to know what "small dick energy meant", he came up with an extremely puerile-
“Thank you for confirming via your email address that you have a small penis. The world was curious. And I do agree you should get a life”, while also releasing a video of himself smoking a cigar and describing Thunberg as “a slave to the Matrix” who was trying to con governments into taxing people to “tell the sun to be less hot”.
During the video, he ordered a pizza, which he specified should come in a non-recyclable box. What he didn’t realise was that the pizza box helped the international police pinpoint his location, and they launched a raid on his villa and arrested him on charges of aiding human trafficking.
There was a sense of poetic justice in the entire episode, and it is good that the man is behind bars. But more than anything else, the unprovoked taunting and the subsequent meltdowns took place so publicly that it is now impossible for people to ignore the corrosive influence that people like Andrew Tate have on impressionable adolescents and young men.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Andrew Tate, for those who do not know him, is the best-known voice in the ‘manosphere’, a virtual space where men allegedly talk about ‘men’s issues’, but which, in reality, is an ‘anti-woman’ space that promotes male superiority and strives to ‘keep women in their place’. Adolescents and young people have always sought out role models- while some find them within the immediate family, many have had to look beyond to find someone who they feel understands their angst, who sees them without judgement and who they can model themselves on. This is even more important today because the world is changing at an unprecedented pace. The growing demand for gender equity challenges traditional gender roles, leaving young men more confused about their place in the world.
Adolescents and young men need a supportive ecosystem where they can discuss issues like health and fitness, dating, relationships, finance, divorce, and father’s rights, and where they can find guidance and support. Unfortunately, far from filling that gap, the ‘manosphere’ makes it much worse by actively promoting an anti-woman and anti-feminist ideology, where establishing the inherent superiority of men seems more important than helping young men negotiate a world which is striving towards gender equity.
Tate, for instance, describes himself as “absolutely a sexist” and “absolutely a misogynist” and has gone on record saying that women “belong in the home” and that they are “given to the man and belong to the man.” He promotes a lifestyle that reinforces the traditional form of masculinity which describes the male as protector, provider and patriarch, and restricts the role of a woman to property, which exists only to serve the man. By espousing male superiority and endorsing relationships where women are subjugated, Tate and others like him are effectively radicalizing young men and making them unsuitable for living in a world moving towards gender parity.
What explains the growth of the ‘manosphere’?
More and more women are demanding greater gender parity at home and in the workplace. Women are challenging traditional gender roles and are demanding that in a relationship, the emotional load of caregiving, housework and child-rearing be shared by both partners. Ideally, men should realise that, in the long run, a gender-just world would be beneficial to all. However, many men are starting to feel that they are in danger of losing their social status and privilege. The demand for equality challenges privilege, and instead of embracing a more equitable world, many young men are starting to believe that feminism is a part of a global assault on masculinity.
‘Manosphere’ influencers like Andrew Tate work on the insecurities of these men and convince them that feminism will ensure they are emasculated, disposable, disrespected, discarded or even forgotten. They then radicalise the men with their clarion call towards reclaiming their “lost” masculinity and reasserting masculine sexual, physical and emotional authority over women. Young men are being taught that it is weak to express emotions, that they are failures unless they have a subservient girlfriend, and that ‘real men’ have the right to exercise coercive control and inflict sexual and physical abuse on women. These radicalised young men feel threatened when women (and men) speak of gender equity and perceive women’s empowerment as an erosion of their masculine superiority.
Till recently, ‘manosphere’ was viewed as a fringe ideology, and of the few people who were aware of him, most perceived Andrew Tate as an essentially harmless figure who cracks misogynistic jokes in a bid to remain relevant. His unprovoked attack on Greta Thunberg which had his trademark symbols of immature taunting, insecure boasting and gross male entitlement, has exposed the almost cult-like popularity which he and others like him enjoy among a section of youth. It is now clear that the manosphere ideology of male dominance and female subservience cannot be ignored since it is responsible for radicalizing a large section of youth.
How can ‘manosphere’ be countered?
The ‘manosphere’ ideology has its genesis in the growing insecurity of young men at finding their traditional privileges challenged. It can therefore be countered only by a two-pronged approach.
Social media platforms should actively prevent the dissemination of problematic views expressed by Tate and other ‘manosphere’ influencers like him. While one can argue that censoring certain kinds of content goes against the premise of free speech, it must be realised that freedom of expression cannot extend to hate speech, and extreme misogyny is a form of hate speech. Routine offenders like Tate should be de-platformed, and the reach of their old videos should be restricted.
In the long term, however, the only counter is through changing attitudes and behaviour. It is not sufficient that girls and women are empowered, it is equally important to enable boys and men to find their place in a society moving towards greater gender equity. In a gender, just world, men and women are natural allies of each other. Young men should be empowered to understand that while it may appear that their privileges are being taken away, equity will enable people of all genders to be themselves instead of being forced to conform to gender-demarcated roles.
In order to prevent the radicalization of adolescents and young men, it is important to acknowledge that they too are confused by evolving gender roles. It is not just women; even men need guidance and support to find their place in the world. Only by first acknowledging that manosphere influencers are a product of changing societal norms can we address the larger issue and move towards a more equitable world.
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