In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted life online. For many young men, a demographic already vulnerable to feelings of loneliness or isolation, the online world became a place to find community and belonging. At the same time, social beliefs around gender roles continued to shift, leaving some young men unsure of where they stood, according…
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In the United Kingdom, women and LGBTQ+ teachers have expressed feeling unsafe in their classrooms or school environments because of Tates influence on students. Tate’s influence has reached classrooms in Ontario as well. Amanda, 23, says Andrew Tate came up often when she was a substitute teacher at a middle school in Belleville, Ontario. Amanda…
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Rachel Giese, author of Boys: What it means to become a man, says the current cultural context is crucial to understanding why a return to the traditional gender roles espoused by creators like Tate appeals to some young men and boys. “I think that part of it is that young men don’t know how to…
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Toxic masculinity is a term which was originally coined by women’s and gender studies researchers to discuss the pressure men experience performing masculinity to social standards, and the consequences of this behaviour. “Toxic masculinity is the way men are culturally trained and socially pressured to behave. Its three core tenants, toughness, anti-femininity, and power, range…
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Luc Cousineau, a masculinities researcher from the University of Waterloo says that when it comes to content like Tate’s, young men tell him, “I literally cannot get away from it. It doesn’t matter what I do, the algorithm keeps feeding me this content.” While TikTok has banned Tate’s personal account and stated that they do…
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Kaitlyn Tierney is the co-founder and CEO of Diverting Hate. Diverting Hate is a U.S based organization that uses diversion tactics to disrupt the algorithm and direct young men to social supports. The organisation’s mission is to make misogynistic rabbit holes, “impossible to fall into.” Diverting Hate originated as a class project Tierney was involved…
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“The schemes of anti-feminist, anti-women, sexist and misogynistic supremacist content are sort of subsumed within a broader discourse of self-improvement, entrepreneurial-ship, financial independence, dating advice, or health and fitness advice,” says Lawson. “I don’t think men engage with that content because they’re like, ‘I want to be a sexist’ or ‘I want to be a…
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