At the beginning of the year, it felt like the social media influencer Andrew Tate was dominating all my conversations. My group chats pinged with alarm. At the school where I teach, colleagues expressed despair at just how far his misogynist messages had spread. How had a man who many of us had never heard of until last summer garnered such a huge following, resulting in his content on TikTok being viewed more than 12.7bn times? Why were more people searching for him on Google than arguably the world’s best known influencer, Kim Kardashian? Why did his followers stand by him even when he claimed that rape survivors bore some “responsibility” for their assault? How, after #MeToo, could a version of masculinity so lacking in compassion, empathy and respect for women be so popular? The over-35s seemed blindsided – parents especially.
In the frenzy to regain some sense of control, many parents looked to schools. Courses for teachers on how to tackle Tate’s views were advertised, and sold out. In the WhatsApp group chat for year 6 parents at my son’s school, it was no different – “speak to the school” was the advice when I raised the issue.
