The influence of people like Andrew Tate on Irish boys and young men could push the fight for women’s rights back decades, according to the head of a Dublin youth project.
The 36-year-old former kickboxer has been dubbed the ‘king of toxic masculinity’ for his YouTube and TikTok videos, which have billions of views online.
Last month, he was arrested alongside his brother in Romania as part of an investigation into human trafficking, rape and organised crime.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Rialto Youth Project Manager Danielle McKenna is warning that the disgraced influencer is having a big impact on the views of Irish young people – with boys as young as seven being ‘conditioned’ by his misogynistic videos.
“We are very concerned about the current state of masculinity that we see boys and young men facing at the moment,” she said.
Masculinity
Ms McKenna said the youth workers do not use the phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ because it puts people off – and instead discuss different aspects of masculinity with the children they work with.
“Actually, masculinity in itself is a very beautiful thing that people should embrace but there are themes within it that can cause issues for boys, young men and men,” she said.
“When we’re thinking about that, the themes we really look at are around power, dominance, the suppression of vulnerability and the suppression of anything feminine.
“When boys and young men are displaying those types of behaviours, that is when masculinity can become very problematic.
“When you have people like Andrew Tate and this idea of, you have to be strong, you cannot show weakness, you have to hold power and dominance, particularly over women and young women - and they have platforms of social media with millions of viewers - we have really serious issues that bring equality back 70, 80 or 90 years.”
"Conditioning"
A self-described misogynist, Andrew Tate has argued that women are the property of their husbands and should “have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee.”
He has also argued that rape victims must “bear responsibility” for the attacks on them.
Ms McKenna said the videos are having an impact on all young people - not just those who agree with him.
“I suppose what is really important to think about is the conditioning that young men and men are facing in the world today,” she said.
“Even though they might say, ‘oh I can shrug this off’, when they are hearing this day to day and it is becoming embedded into their learning and their role modelling, then it definitely has an impact,” she said.
Parenting
She said parents have a responsibility to ensure they know what their children are watching online.
“There is another huge issue around phones and the idea of phones, not only in Ireland but across the whole world,” she said. “We have been consumed by our phones and what is on our phones.
“We have a saying in Rialto quite often that parents might ask you, what age do you think I should get my child a phone and, as hard as it sounds, the answer we give them is, as soon as you’re ready for them to see porn and ready for them to see anything else, then you are ready to give them a phone.”
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