EPAAndrew Tate speaks to the press in Romania
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 19:40
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Meike Wijers
Australia correspondent
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Meike Wijers
Australia correspondent
Research has been conducted in Australia into the influence of Andrew Tate on students, for the first time worldwide. A quarter of the boys surveyed indicates that they have been influenced by the controversial American influencer because of his worldview. This causes a crisis in education.
“Female teachers told us shocking stories,” says researcher Stephanie Wescott, from Monash University in Melbourne. For her research she spoke to female teachers about their experiences with Tate’s ideas in the classroom.
One woman said a student asked her, “Teacher, do you think women should be allowed to drive? Because according to Andrew Tate, they shouldn’t.” Another said a boy asked her why there were girls in the class. “They don’t need education anyway, they can create an OnlyFans account to make money.” OnlyFans is an online platform where influencers can ask their followers for money, often in exchange for sexually explicit videos and photos.
Worldwide popularity
Andrew Tate is an international internet phenomenon. His expensive cars, cigars and life advice find an eager, mainly male audience on social media. His videos have been viewed billions of times.
But since his rise to fame in 2022, the self-proclaimed misogynist has repeatedly been discredited for his outspoken anti-women views. According to the influencer, “real men” are strong, rich and keep their wives under their thumb. He states, among other things, that “women are the property of men” and that “women who put themselves in a position to be raped are partly responsible for this themselves.”
And it doesn’t stop at controversial statements on social media. In Romania, he and his brother Tristan are suspected of sex with minors, rape, human trafficking, money laundering and influencing witnesses.
They are still awaiting trial. He may then be extradited to the United Kingdom, where he is also being prosecuted for tax fraud and rape. Yet its global popularity has hardly waned.
‘Managing misconduct’
Wescott states that many young boys have been radicalized by Tate and relatives. “Boys’ behavior has changed dramatically under Tate’s influence. They are openly sexist and physically and verbally threatening towards women.”
Many female teachers say they receive little to no support from their male colleagues. “Often their complaints are dismissed or downplayed. Women are not believed,” says Wescott.
Halley Metcalfe (39) recognizes this. She worked for many years as an English and drama teacher at various schools. “I loved my job, I was made for it,” she says. But at the end of 2023 she could no longer cope. “Because of the behavior of some boys, it was no longer possible to simply teach. It was no longer teaching, but managing misbehavior.”
In Australia there are still many stereotypical ideas about what it means to be a man.
Daniel Paproth, The Man Cave
There are initiatives in Australia to counter the negative influence of figures such as Andrew Tate. The organization The Man Cave provides workshops to boys in schools to help them express their feelings.
“There are still a lot of stereotypical ideas in Australia about what it means to be a man,” says Daniel Paproth, one of the workshop leaders. “We try to create a safe environment for boys to express themselves.”
Because, according to Paproth, problems arise due to that one-sided, stereotypical image of what it means to be a man. Many boys struggle with depression and aggression. Australia is talking about a domestic violence crisis.
On average, a woman is murdered by a man every four days. “Our vision is a world where every man has healthy relationships that reduce the violence he causes to himself and the women around him.”
Women quit their jobs
Although the workshops are a success, the influence of the so-called ‘manfluencer’ remains great. “Even though we’ve had a really good day with the boys, at the end they’re straight back on their phones. And then those ideas from Andrew Tate come in again.”
Because even though Tate is banned from most social media, such as YouTube and Instagram, his ideas are still widely shared. He is still active on X and has about ten million followers.
For many female teachers it is a reason to leave the profession. Metcalfe retired after sixteen years in education. “The majority of teachers in Australia are women. But this behavior is causing many female teachers to leave because this is not the job we signed up for,” she says.
Part of the culture
It is not recorded how many women quit for this reason. It is known that more than twice as many women will resign in 2023 compared to five years earlier. Much more often than their male colleagues.
Researcher Wescott speaks of a crisis in Australian education. “Sexual misconduct and misogyny are accepted as part of the culture in schools. There is far too little attention paid to the safety of female teachers and a lack of effective policies to stop this trend.”
