The Battle For Men’s Souls
Former kickboxer Andrew Tate has recently been banned off multiple social media platforms for creating violent, misogynistic content. His Tiktok videos contained troubling assertions such as that rape victims are to blame for their own assaults and that women are the property of men alongside discussions about beating and choking women, how to destroy their belongings and stop them from going out. His content has pushed the boundaries of even the most ardent proponents of free speech, as he appears to be inciting his many followers to violence rather than merely fill their heads with misogynistic artifice. Far from being a cultural anomaly, however, Tate is just the latest and most aggressive ‘manosphere’ personality who uses his platform to target other men. It’s worth exploring why Tate and his content has such a large appeal to young men.
One of the most obvious and frequently cited areas of contention is widespread dissatisfaction with the dating market. Online forums full of ‘Incels’ (involuntary celibates) bombast the aspects of contemporary culture they blame for their lack of success in finding sexual partners. They contend that feminism and dating apps facilitate ‘hypergamy’, with the most successful men being awarded the vast majority of female attention whilst they, for superficial reasons such as their looks, height, job etc., are always rejected. Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that…
