If you’re shocked, you haven’t been paying attention
By Millie Glaister, BA Politics and International Relations
It’s been a rough few weeks for the incels that troll among us. First, Andrew Tate, a social media influencer and a self-proclaimed alpha male, was taken into custody by the Romanian police alongside his brother over sexual assault and human trafficking charges. Then Justin Roiland, the co-creator of Rick and Morty, was charged in court with Felony Domestic Violence and False Imprisonment, and with the attention on him, many DMs have surfaced purportedly demonstrating him interacting with minors in a predatory fashion.
However, I am not here to discuss the nature of either of these men’s content or really their charges at all. Especially with regards to Andrew Tate, I don’t think it’s beneficial to anyone involved for me to sit and write about why I disagree with a man that is openly misogynistic and pro-violence against women. What I do want to talk about is the responses to all these allegations coming to light and the willingness of people to admit they are surprised by any of this.
My initial idea for this article was going to be following the chronic online takes that emerged following Tate’s interactions with Greta Thunberg on Twitter. My personal favourite was that Thunberg’s implication of Tate’s ‘small dick energy’ was problematic by means of body shaming and was evidence of her stooping to his level. Additionally, there were claims that she was ‘clout chasing’ and the classic line, ‘they’re both as bad as each other’, was parrotted across many Twitter takes on the situation. But quickly my attention was drawn away from trivialities when I saw Jess Phillips’ tweet in response to the situation. Phillips wrote, in a since-deleted tweet:
‘To date, I avoided all knowledge of Andrew Tate, I mean I got the jist that he was an internet misogynist people talked about, but decided didn’t have the bandwidth for another one, so never looked. Glad I looked today. Perhaps he should have let a woman be in charge of his output.’
Putting outside the honestly outrageous claim that somehow if Tate let a woman run his Twitter, his heinous views and sex-trafficking ring would be far improved, Philips serves as the Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding in Keir Starmer’s Opposition government. The choice to not take on board knowledge of Andrew Tate and his prominence is precisely the opposite of what her role entails, and to me, is emblematic of the issue that is evident across our society.
“The ease by which people brush off Tate as a joke or a punchline to the stories of crazy online incels is enabling demonstratively violent misogyny to rear its head in society.”
My sister is an English teacher in a secondary school in Lewisham, and from her, I’ve heard first-hand accounts of the prominence of the Andrew Tate – alpha-male – hustler school of thought on young and impressionable minds. Schools have safeguarding policies which require reporting any views that are perceived as harmful, and recently Tate’s influence has massively increased not only the commonality of violent misogyny but also the confidence with which kids as young as 11 are spouting these beliefs.
My sister herself has attempted to engage with some of the kids about why they shouldn’t support Tate and his views. On one of these occasions, the 13-year-old boy responded, ‘Of course, you think he’s bad, you’re a female.’ Tate’s effect is prolific; his message of individualism, and the ability for his fans to get rich and be successful like him, works in conjunction with peddling a victim narrative that places the blame on women for any shortcomings of a man. This message is resonating far too well with young boys and is creating a toxic and violently misogynistic environment within schools and beyond.
The ease by which people brush off Tate as a joke or a punchline to the stories of crazy online incels is enabling demonstratively violent misogyny to rear its head in society. The severity of Tate’s crimes, and the fact that he has openly talked about the means by which he trafficked girls while simultaneously convincing an entire genre of people that if anything happens to him, it’s the ‘Matrix’ coming for him, and not the consequences of his actions, shows this. Similarly, I raise the point of Rick and Morty’s fans having a sect that is renowned for being online misogynistic incels; when we see the product of the content these men create and the way they influence their fanbases, we should not be surprised when the realities of their actions come to light.
So no, I am not shocked about Andrew Tate, Justin Roiland, or any of the men who profit off denigrating women and are then shown to *gasp* act in accordance with their views towards the women in their lives. What I am shocked by is the way people across society are willing to write off these occurrences as one-offs, rather than a veritable insight into the continual acceptance of violent misogyny.
Image Caption: Andrew Tate on ‘Anything Goes With James English’ in 2021 (Credit: Anything Goes With James English)
