Controversial influencer Andrew Tate made headlines recently when he was arrested by Romanian police as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation. The 30-year-old former kickboxer rose to prominence through his misogynistic content.
Tate is known as one of the prominent faces of the ‘manosphere’. The manosphere is a wide range of content aimed at men.
While some influencers, blogs, websites and forums in the manosphere are focused on subjects such as fitness, fashion, faith and relationship advice for men - there are problematic aspects of it. The dark side of the manosphere includes content that promotes misogyny and is staunchly anti-feminist.
READ MORE: Mums warn of sons becoming 'obsessed' by social media influencer Andrew Tate
A key aspect of the dark side of the manosphere is its proximity to ‘incel culture’ which has risen online over the last few years. Incel culture and its ideology has begun to spread among teenagers and particularly young boys at secondary school age.
Speaking to the MEN, safeguarding consultant James Simoniti said that some students have been known to profess their admiration for Tate during classes.
He told the MEN: “The real concerns I've had is when I've been into schools... I can think of a specific example of where schools have asked kids to present something on a person to improve their presenting skills and improve their public speaking.
“They've been asked to present something on a person they admire and some of these schools have actually had Andrew Tate as that person. There are children that make presentations on Andrew Tate as someone that they admire.
“So that's kind of the most obvious and quite terrifying manifestation of it, but certainly there is a lot more that goes on, that is not necessarily linked to him directly, but more towards that misogyny.”
What is an Incel?
Incel is a shortened phrase for ‘involuntary celibate’. The term was was created by a woman named Alana in the late 1990s. She was then in her mid 20s, had just begun dating, and started a website for lonely people who were well into adulthood and were unable to find love or sexual partners. The forum was initially a positive space where like-minded people would visit to talk about their loneliness.
Alana left the community and as the years progressed the label was co-opted by lonely young men with body image and self-esteem issues who believed they were denied sexual and romantic partners by society - and that women were to blame. Now, within the incel online communities, women are heavily stereotyped, objectified and dehumanised with some incel forums and websites condoning sexual and physical violence towards women.
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In 2014, 22-year-old man named Elliot Rodger killed six people in a shooting and stabbing spree in Isla Vista, California. Rodger turned the gun on himself, but before his death he sent out a 141-page document detailing his hate for women caused by his frustration over his virginity.
Elliot Rodger is seen as a hero in some incel communities.
While many believed that the incel problem was a North American one, James says that an attack in the UK, in 2021, was the ‘wake up call’ for the UK about the spread of incel ideology.
In that year a ‘critical incident’ was declared in Plymouth after 22-year-old Jake Davison shot and killed five people including his mother and a three-year-old girl. His motive was never established, but, following the incident, Davison’s Youtube account was found to feature videos of Davison talking about incels and using terminology and ideas linked to the subculture.
“Historically it has been more present across the pond," James says. "USA and Canada I think has historically actually had some incel attacks and I think the first real kind of indication that we needed to worry about it was in the Plymouth attack in 2021.
"That was a real wake-up call to how big this had gone."
“I think before it was kind of seen as an online thing, 'yes, there's these weird subcultures, but don't worry too much about them'. Everybody's a bit weird online sometimes, so we don't worry, but after there was kind of an attack with people seriously injured and killed that made people think, hang on... this is a bit more."
The dark side of the manosphere and its links to incel culture
Examples of misogynistic manosphere content creators range from Pick Up Artists (PUAS), Men’s Rights Activists and MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way). Many of these videos, podcasts, forums and articles all centre around prejudice against women and are in direct opposition to feminism, with some having connections to the far-right.
The producers of this content may express the belief that women are inferior, must be subservient to men and that modern day society is emasculating the men of today. However, James explains that you don’t have to be an incel to believe or spout incel rhetoric.
Andrew Tate has never identified as an incel or expressed any support to the community. However he does use incel ideology and terminology.
A few hours after his arrest, he posted a cryptic tweet from his account saying "The Matrix sent their agents." Incels have adopted the blue and red pill metaphor from the first Matrix movie.
In the film about a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly enslaved in by the 'matrix', the main character is asked to digest a blue pill or red pill.
The blue pill will will allow him to return to his life unaware of the matrix and his chattel status, while taking the red pill will make him enlightened and aware of the nefarious machines that control his life.
Incels have adopted this message and use it to represent awareness - or lack of awareness, of their world view. In incel culture there are multiple 'pills' used to describe differing ideologies in the community.
For example, 'red pillers' - which describes incels who believe world is unfair and stacked against men in favour of women - and that the only way to overcome this is by becoming an 'alpha' male, going to the gym and treating women poorly. Or 'black pillers' who agree that men are systemically oppressed, but think that the only solution to overcome this would be by a drastic change of the society we live in through violent means.
Speaking about Tate and his proximity to incel ideology, James told the MEN: "The real concern at the moment relates to not necessarily incels themselves, but people promoting incel kind of messages and those misogynistic messages.
“So Andrew Tate is a prime example of that. He wouldn't describe himself as an incel and he would probably distance himself massively, but equally those same beliefs systems are in place. It's those misogynistic (views), hatred of women and subordination of women that is really key to their ideology."
James, as a former police officer, worked in the investigation of sexual offences, child abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Now, as safeguarding consultant he visits schools and speaks to teachers about children's safety for Judicium, a school support service.
While he concedes that 'inceldom' and the manosphere is a niche subculture engaged in by a small, but vocal, minority, he does feel as though it is radicalising young men. James predicts that the government will eventually step in to support and divert young children away from the harmful culture - using measures of the kind used to combat terrorism.
"Prevent was drawn up by the government few years ago in order to divert people away from radicalisation," he said. "So really the key ones that they focus on are Islamist ideology, extreme right wing and also some direct action protest groups as well.
"Incels I think is becoming a form of radicalisation, maybe not to the same extent because it is not common that an incel will go out in the world and actually commit violence.
"That is unusual, that's still something that's not mainstream I would suggest. But these kind of microaggressions and the lower level, you know, flicking bra straps, lifting of skirts, things like that, is the way you see it more.
"I think one day that could be part of the Prevent duty, that the Prevent duty may expand and with that comes a ton of support for people that are referred. So there would be kind of support groups put in place for people that are referred to that or these resources directing at diverting them away from this radicalisation.
"But in practice its not part of Prevent. So at the minute it's probably not quite fit for purpose."
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