Toxic masculinity is back
Andrew Tate uses X to share his violent vision of masculinity. Photo: AFP
Toxic masculinity peddled by online influencers is becoming increasingly prominent, experts say, buoyed by the resurgence of far-right ideology and a virulent backlash against feminism.
In March, a 26-year-old man was jailed in the UK for killing his ex-girlfriend, her sister and her mother with a crossbow and knife in 2024.
Kyle Clifford's trial heard that he had watched videos by self-proclaimed misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate hours before the horrific murders.
Tate has more than 10 million followers on X and is popular with young men on the platform, where he shares his violent vision of masculinity.
While Tate was banned on Instagram and TikTok for his misogynistic tirades, his X account was restored by Elon Musk when the billionaire bought the platform in 2022.
Now, the British-American figurehead of the online masculinist movement has left Romania for the United States with his brother Tristan, despite facing rape and human trafficking charges in Bucharest.
The two brothers, outspoken supporters of US President Donald Trump, are now in Florida, where a criminal investigation has been opened against them.
According to Jacob Johanssen, associate professor of communications at St Mary's University in London, there has been "a normalisation of misogyny, rape culture and violence against women and girls".
The rise of the so-called "manosphere" – made up of online forums and communities that promote masculinism and misogyny – is "intrinsically linked to the growth of right-wing populism across many parts of the world", Johanssen told AFP.
Men 'alienated'
With Trump's offensive against diversity and inclusion policies, hailed by hard-right politicians in several countries, "anti-woke" rhetoric is gaining ground.
In January, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for a return to "masculine energy".
"What we're seeing is a new dynamic," said Joshua Thorburn, a doctoral candidate at Australia's Monash University researching online misogyny, adding that there is now "more visibility" for such ideas.
While some feminist researchers have long warned of an impending conservative backlash against advances in women's rights, experts interviewed by AFP point to a crisis in masculinity.
"We live in an unstable and precarious world and men, as well as everyone else, face many problems today. They feel alienated," according to Johanssen.
This, experts say, is where the manosphere comes in, with its online forums and YouTube channels.
"The different communities in the manosphere function like self-help groups for men where they can discuss issues such as mental health, vulnerability or loneliness," Johanssen said.
"But at the same time, those spaces also contain very toxic discussions of misogyny and sexism."
'Tricking' young men
According to Thorburn, a large section of manosphere content also "relates to things a lot of young men may be looking for online, such as dating advice, health and fitness advice, and financial advice".
"A young man or teenager may not be explicitly searching for misogynistic content when they first encounter a manosphere influencer's content or a manosphere community," he said.
AFP spoke to a 15-year-old Londoner called Alistair who said he enjoys this kind of content. He is a fan of the YouTube channel and podcast FreshandFit, which describes itself as dedicated to "men's self-improvement".
However, in addition to videos on how to achieve dream muscles, other segments discuss why "women are so hypocritical" or why men and women "could never be equal".
Alistair, who is also a fan of Andrew Tate, does not see any issue. "It's about sport and how to make it in life," the secondary school pupil told AFP. "Where's the harm?"
In recent weeks, the British television series Adolescence has won praise for its exploration of the subject through the story of a 13-year-old boy who murders a schoolgirl, influenced by online misogyny.
The screenwriters said they were inspired by several real-life events and hoped the show could help audiences understand how boys and young men are influenced by the manosphere.
In a speech on Wednesday, former England football manager Gareth Southgate slammed "toxic" influencers who "trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance... and that the world, including women, is against them". AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
16 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Migrants flee N Ireland unrest
Fireworks thrown at Riot Police illuminate the road during a third night of anti-immigration demonstrations in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Photo: AFP Foreign nationals hid in wardrobes and attics to escape a wave of unrest which has rocked a Northern Ireland town, police said Thursday, calling for the protests to end and warning rioters they would face arrest. "Stop this violence," said Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher. "We will come after you. We will arrest you. We will prosecute you successfully." He was speaking after three nights of unrest in the town of Ballymena, some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Belfast. The clashes erupted on Monday night after two teenagers were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl at the weekend. Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody and had asked for a Romanian interpreter in court. After another barrage of petrol bombs, bricks and bottles, the crowds eventually dispersed late Wednesday without a repeat of the chaotic scenes seen on Monday and Tuesday when houses and businesses in areas where Romanian families live were torched. A total of 13 people have now been arrested, and 41 police officers injured, though most of the injuries are not severe. Three teenage boys aged 15, 17 and 18 were due to appear in court on Thursday having been charged with rioting, said police. Boutcher described the riots as "wanton, disgraceful criminal behaviour that is absolutely race motivated", speaking at a news conference Thursday. Police had helped evacuate foreign national families hiding in attics and wardrobes in their homes "even though they had done nothing wrong", he said. "They are not criminals. They contribute positively to society here and are well integrated," he added. Clonavon Road, where most of the riots happened in a neighbourhood known for having a large population of eastern Europeans, was almost deserted on Thursday. Many of the houses were damaged, and British, English or Northern Irish flags hung from most windows, AFP reporters saw. Some had signs saying they were Filipino residents.
Express Tribune
16 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Ukrainians beg for news of missing soldiers
Desperate Ukrainian families hold up photos of missing soldiers as the latest prisoner of war exchange is carried out between Ukraine and Russia. Photo AFP Amid the screaming sirens of ambulances bringing Ukrainian prisoners back from Russia on Thursday, Yana Nepotribna struggled to make her voice heard as she yelled out to her husband. Denys Nepotribna could not hear his tearful 26-year-old wife in the din. And he was among the soldiers surprised to see the woman climb onto a two metre (6.5 feet) high wall to get a better view. Nepotribna fell into the arms of her husband and the other former prisoners surrounded them as though forming a protective shield around their reunion. She was then carried in the crowd having nearly lost conscious in the emotion of the moment. "I held on to him like a vulture," she told AFP. "He says he said something, but I don't remember what it was." The couple had one of the rare happy endings from the latest return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity. At least one other woman emerged from the crowd in tears, unable to find the soldier she had been looking for in the crowd. Russia and Ukraine agreed at talks in Istanbul last week to each free more than 1,000 prisoners of war and to send back the bodies of war dead. All of those freed were wounded or aged under 25. The first stages of the swap took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Russia on Wednesday also handing back the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. The oldest Ukrainian soldier freed on Thursday was 59, the youngest 22. They included some who had been listed as "missing in action," Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. The freed soldiers were besieged by distraught families looking for news of missing fighters. Under the window of the building where the soldiers were taken, people held up banners with the pictures of missing soldiers. Dozens of identity pictures are also stuck to the walls. Families begged the returning troops to look at the images and shouted their names and brigade numbers hoping for news. Wounded soldiers, some without legs and other limbs, were pushed in wheelchairs. One looked at the pictures as he moved through the crowd. "That one is alive," he said after seeing one photo. One soldier walked through with a Ukrainian flag around his shoulders. "Mum, I am in Ukraine and I will soon be home," he shouted, in Russian, into a mobile phone. Cries of joy and tears of sadness were passed through other phones as other soldiers made their presence known. Iryna Melnyk said she found out during an exchange on Tuesday that her son, missing for the past two years, was alive. "Two men told me that he was alive and in captivity," said the 44-year-old. "I recorded them by video to show that my son is alive and that he must be saved," she added. "I showed a photo of my son. I said: 'Look. 57th Brigade. Melnik.' And he looked at me and and recognised my son," she said. The prisoner exchanges are one of the rare areas where the war rivals have been able to agree after more than three years of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukrainian officials said more exchanges were expected in the coming days despite wrangling between the two sides. Russian state media showed Moscow's troops in camouflage chanting "Russia, Russia" with national flags around their shoulders as they returned on Thursday. According to a Ukrainian interior ministry estimate given in December, about 60,000 Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are considered missing in the chaos of the war.
Express Tribune
20 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Harvey Weinstein found guilty
Disgraced Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of one sexual assault at his retrial Wednesday and not guilty of another, with jurors still considering a rape charge after hearing graphic testimony from his alleged victims, as reported by AFP. Weinstein was retried for offences against two women, Jessica Mann whom he is alleged to have raped, and Miriam Haley whom he was found to have sexually assaulted, alongside new charges of assaulting ex-model Kaja Sokola. He was found not guilty of those new charges at the tense proceeding in a Manhattan court on Wednesday. Delivering the verdict of the seven women and five men of the jury on the Haley count, the foreman said: "Guilty." He shook his head when he was asked for a verdict on the rape of Mann, and said "not guilty" on the Sokola count. Weinstein looked on impassively, seated in a wheelchair and wearing a dark suit as he has done throughout the six weeks of hearings. But later, the 73-year-old appeared to mutter "Not true" as he was wheeled out of court. Post-verdict Following the verdict, Haley told reporters that the defence's "victim shaming and deliberate attempts to distort the truth was exhausting and at times dehumanising." "But today's verdict gives me hope, hope that there is new awareness around sexual violence and that the myth of the 'perfect victim' is fading." The verdicts came after a dramatic morning in which tensions in the jury deliberation room spilled into the open. The foreman had told the judge Curtis Farber he could not continue after facing threats. "One other juror made comments to the effect 'I'll meet you outside one day'," the judge said, quoting the foreman, adding there was yelling between jurors. After Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala heatedly demanded a mistrial over the jury rupture, Weinstein himself addressed the court, deploying a commanding voice reminiscent of the heyday of his Hollywood power. "We've heard threats, violence, intimidation - this is not right for me... the person who is on trial here," he said. "My lawyers, the District Attorney's lawyers, can fight all they want, (but) this is my life that's on the line and it's not fair." "It's time, it's time, it's time your honor, to say this trial is over," Weinstein added. The judge responded that while unusual, disputes between jurors were not unheard of, before pressing on to hear the jury's partial verdict. Genesis of 'MeToo' The Oscar-winner's conviction is a vindication for Haley, whose complaint in part led to the initial guilty verdict in 2020, and helped spur the "MeToo" movement that saw an outpouring of allegations from prominent women who were abused by men. Weinstein underwent a spectacular fall from his position astride the world of Hollywood and show business in 2017 when the first allegations against him exploded into public view. The movement upended the film industry, exposing the systemic exploitation of young women seeking to work in entertainment, and provoking a reckoning on how to end the toxic culture. More than 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct in the wake of the global backlash against men abusing positions of power. Weinstein's original 2020 conviction, and the resulting 23-year prison term, was thrown out last year after an appeals court found irregularities in the way witnesses were presented. Throughout the trial that began on April 15, Weinstein's sharp-suited attorney argued that the context had shifted since the first proceedings. While the "MeToo" movement was "the most important thing in society" back then, "I think people's heads are in a different place right now," Aidala said. Any sentence will be in addition to the 16-year term Winstein is already serving after being convicted in California of raping a European actress over a decade ago. Weinstein, the producer of box office hits like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, did not take the stand during his retrial, but did acknowledge in an interview he acted "immorally." The retrial played out with far less public attention than the initial proceedings, when daily protests against sexual violence were staged outside the court. This time, the case was eclipsed by the blockbuster trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs taking place at an adjacent courthouse.
