The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Milly Burn (she/her), LVI, writes about the man who has dominated the media and headlines and why it is that he is so detrimental to our society.

AndrewTate is a dangerous figurehead for casual rape culture. His influence is clearly exemplified in his views on the treatment of women.When clips from his podcasts quickly went viral on TikTok and Instagram, his horrifying message was quickly heard by millions of people. He used shock value to create a platform for himself.

The dehumanising misogyny he

promotes not only exposes young women to the rape culture they already suffer from in day-to-day life but strengthens the damaging and unrealistic ideals of ‘manhood’ that affects so many. Before his Instagram was deactivated it was terrifying to see the amount of people that followed his account and supported this man by expanding his platform and how many people it reached.The boys and young men who support him and claim him as their ‘Top G’ are paying tribute to their own downfall.Tate told them that expressing emotion is feminine despite the fact that male suicide rates in the UK are 17.6 per 100,000 compared to the female suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 per year. Many of these views can be attributed to the expectation that men shouldn’t express and sadness.AndrewTate is profiting from the abuse of women and the shaming of men, creating a threat for us all. His exploitation is still trickling through to younger audiences despite his having been banned from Instagram and TikTok and as hundreds remain indoctrinated by his horrifying messages. Although his social media presence was short, it was powerful and left a mark in all our minds, whether we know it not.

Artwork: Melis Buberka, UVI Andrew Tate has proudly said and done all these things: - In a podcast, he explained why he left the UK to live in Romania, saying: ‘I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want.’

- Broke a woman’s jaw

- He is under investigation for human trafficking.

- He bemoaned the ‘decline ofWestern Civilisation’ after seeing a poster at Heathrow airport encouraging woman to go on holiday as opposed to staying at home to care for her husband.

- At the height of the ‘Me Too’ movement he told rape victims they must ‘bear responsibility’.

- He has bragged about hitting and choking women.

- On one occasion he said:

“boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up b***h” As an explanation as to how he would act if a woman cheated on him.

- He was removed from Big Brother for hitting a woman with a belt and telling her to count the bruises he had caused her.

- On another occasion, he claimed that women are the property of men and should maintain their virginity

You may think that one man’s abusive actions cannot affect an entire generation but on TikTok alone his message was heard over eleven and a half billion times. In July there were more google searches for him than Donald Trump or Kim Kardashian. Impressionable young people are

hearing a message come from this self-proclaimed sexist every day.You must start to consider what if it is no longer a joke. Somewhere in the world a young man is learning to treat women as property and a young girl is beginning to learn her sexuality defines her value.

Interested in finding out more? Read the editor’s supplementary content by scanning the QR code.

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