When I grow up, I want to be Andrew Tate

15 Feb When I grow up, I want to be Andrew Tate

Turn back the clock to the 1980s or ’90s and ask boys what they would like to be when they grow up, and the answer was usually an astronaut, policeman, or footballer. However, fast forward to the internet age, and the response is often a YouTuber or, more recently, Andrew Tate. So, who is Andrew Tate? Why is he getting so much attention, and why is he dangerous? A former kickbox champion and online influencer, he was detained in Romania in December 2023 on suspicion of rape and human trafficking. 

As an online celebrity, Tate is also the founder of The Hustlers University; as described on his website, he provides a community where he and multiple experts will teach you, the student, how to make money. On his opening page, one frequently asked question is, can I join at any age? The answer is yes. Whether Andrew Tate’s university is a place of research, debate, and open dialogue is highly questionable; however, possibly the popularity of Mr Tate’s far-right educational style is a kickback on our conventional universities that some argue have become places of radical left extremes. His hashtag has been viewed approximately 12.7 billion times over social media, and he has a following of 4.6 million, so there is no question about his popularity and his ability to use the vehicle of social media to strike a chord, influence men and ultimately exploit the business model of social media to make money. Nevertheless, many are starting to raise the alarm regarding Tate’s promotion of a sickly indulgent, materialistic, immoral, misogynistic lifestyle that attracts impressionable young men to emulate him for all the wrong reasons.

Those who argue for Tate claim he is a voice against radical feminism, representing men who feel disenfranchised and exploited by the new social order. In addition, Tate’s fan base suggests that the media ignore his positive messaging of discipline, motivation and success and use sound bite proactive statements out of context to demonise Tate. In contrast, those who dislike him argue that his brand of toxic masculinity negatively influences a generation of young men with misogyny and stereotyping. Some of his more controversial statements include:

“You can’t be responsible for something that doesn’t listen to you. You can’t be responsible for a dog if it doesn’t obey you, or a child if it doesn’t obey you, or a woman that doesn’t obey you.” Andrew Tate

 Whatever your opinion, there is no doubt that social media has enabled Tate to push himself to the top of an alternative hierarchy, with back-slapping, self-validating communities Tate’s following, like other extreme online tribes, has created a forum of group conformity and acceptance where alternative narratives and critical thinking are uncontested, leaving only lazy approval, belonging and bad behaviour.

While Tate holds hegemony in the online battle for male supremacy, many others wait in the wings to overthrow his crown; tap into Tate, and algorithms will quickly signpost you to other wannabe influencers and misogynistic forums.

Andrew Tate has proven he can sidestep the rules to reach the masses., like so many others identifying the multiple loopholes in the legislation. The solution, therefore, lies in education, raising awareness of critical thinking, empathy and respectful morality. Until then, we remain hopeful that the online generation will once again dream of becoming firefighters, doctors and scientists.