“ALPHA MALE” BEHIND THE MANOSPHERE

How to handle the influx of Insecure young men heavily influenced by

Andrew Tate

Avery Nowicki (They/She) - Writer Eva Staub - Illustrator

Andrew Tate’s influence on young men is undeniable. For any man with predisposed issues surrounding masculinity, and the many young boys growing up in a world that fosters those problems, he works as the perfect anti-role model. Most commonly his content has reached young boys and men through social media platforms like Instagram reels, Tiktok, and Youtube. However, it is vital to mention that Andrew Tate was not nearly the first of his kind on platforms like Instagram, nor the driving force for the resurgence of the “Alpha male” ideology. Tate is simply the newest figurehead of a movement that’s resurrection has been boiling in the underbelly of male culture for years since the rise of modern feminism and “wokeness”.

So what exactly makes young men targets to the toxic, insensitive, and at-times abuse encouraging viewpoints of this infamous content creator? The answer is simple: he prays on everything that terrifies them and leads them to believe these fears are inevitable if they do not follow his toxic ideologies surrounding love. Andrew Tate’s brand works so seamlessly because it targets the most common and deep-rooted insecurities of these men, his words effectively anatomizing their psyches and tearing out their morality towards the opposite gender. Tate’s message specializes in tugging at fear of abandonment, fear of weakness, and fear of vulnerabilitythree things that work as toxic masculinities rapidly beating heart. So what can we, as outsiders on this issue, do to help victims of the Manosphere*?

One may suggest an attempt at open and honest conversation by providing a non-male point of view, however, that may be more difficult than it sounds. While it is of course, possible to argue openly against Andrew Tate’s many horrifically sexist viewpoints and the many half-digested beliefs formed by these men from an influx of Alpha male Instagram reels, many feminists feel simply too-small to scream at the problem, struggling to make sound in a sea of alpha males.

Modern day feminism has recieved a terrible reputation within this vast online community, creating such an odd dilemma between young, straight men. These men are attracted to women, at least in the physical sense, yet treat non-male core human rights as something to be insulted and degraded, and yet somehow wonder how the modern incel (involuntary celibate) population is radiply growing.

Where I believe Andrew Tate has failed, is in his misunderstanding of his power. Tate is a product of the Alpha male pipeline just as much as the many young boys he has influenced. We can see in countless current interviews, the way he is actively defending himself. You can see the fear in his eyes when he speaks. Andrew Tate did not understand the power of his words when he began degrading women/non-men as harshly and persistently as he did, an act only committed in an attempt to eradicate his deep personal insecurities and feel “man enough”.

I believe there is a part of him that has seen the terrible effect he has had on millions of men, you can feel his guilt in his words, and yet he will never stop defending himself, never showing enough vulnerability to be honest about what he has done, but who can blame him when vulnerability is the driving force of his many insecurities. So what do we do about this problem he has rebirthed?

My suggestion is to do what you can to show those in your life the weakness Andrew Tate holds in his scared little hands, and teach them that manliness is a facade built on a thick concrete foundation of insecurity and loss of control. Teach them that there is so much more to life than fear of abandonment. Instead, encourage thought of what could change within their gender representation, sexuality, and sexual well-being if they allowed themsleves to let go of insecurities built by toxic masculinity.