The Brand of Hypertoxic Masculinity: A Perspective on How Men Have Lost Their Moral Compass

To those of us who were raised in a totalitarian society, it seems as though in other countries and societies, a particular idea or concept will always prevail. It’s as if, once people have decided on a certain issue in a particular way, the overwhelming majority will agree with that decision.

Take, for example, feminism.

We are sure that everyone in the West has long recognized not only equality, but even the slight superiority of the "weaker" sex over the "stronger". A woman is a full-fledged member of society, has every opportunity for career growth, professional fulfillment, earns, is self-reliant and independent. And not only a hostess, but even a mother, she does not need to be at all.

Is that right?

But no!

A democratic society works differently. It will always be a melting pot of different ideas and concepts, and each will have its supporters. This is especially true now, when information flows freely across the internet and social media.

And while the flat Earth theory, the reptilian conspiracy theory, and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster may have their followers, so-called “toxic masculinity” attracts a veritable crowd of devotees.

I'll explain this phenomenon using just one character as an example, though I can assure you there are many others like him.

His name is Andrew Tate. Please don't Google him, so as not to give him any publicity. I've already done that for you.

So here's the thing.

Mr. Tate is an Anglo-American businessman, a former kickboxing champion, 37 years old.

"So what?" you might say. There are plenty of former athletes out there who've become businesspeople!

You're reading about Tate because he's become a popular social media influencer with a completely outdated agenda.

But first things first.

After retiring from his athletic career, Andrew and his brother opened a webcam studio. They employed 75 models. The webcam models (among other things) told their subscribers sad stories to extract as much money as possible. Tate himself later admitted that the business was nothing but a scam and a rip-off.

The next project was a platform with the catchy name “Hustler University,” where, for just $49.99 a month, users could access instructions and video tutorials on how to make money without working in an office: freelancing, e-commerce, cryptocurrencies, and so on. A referral system rewarded participants for recruiting new subscribers. Tate also asked customers to share videos featuring him on social media to boost the platform’s popularity. As a result, the number of subscribers to his pyramid scheme grew to 100,000. Eventually, the company handling payments for Hustler University became suspicious and stopped providing its services.

It was succeeded by the project *The Real World*, which now has 168,000 participants.

Next came The War Room, an exclusive private club with an 8,000 USD membership fee. It is a “global network in which examples of individualism work to liberate modern people from social confinement.” Such liberation is supposedly achieved through physical, spiritual, mental, and financial development.

A BBC investigation in August 2023 found evidence that The War Room had been teaching its followers how to manipulate and abuse women. The instructions are described in terms of animal training, with references to the works of Academician Pavlov. A separate course is devoted to how to make a girl fall in love with you and persuade her to work as a webcam model.

In December 2022, the Teitov brothers and two other women were arrested in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape, and organizing a criminal group for the purpose of sexually exploiting women.

Our protagonist denies all charges. The trial is still ongoing.

But the most interesting thing about this colorful biography is the serious influence of Andrew Tate on social networks. In particular, in X (former Twitter), the comrade has 7.5 million subscribers. 

And unlike thousands of other "info-gypsies," Tate doesn't just preach that men need to take control of their own lives, illustrating this point with videos of swimming pools and expensive cars.

He thinks women are primitive and meant to please men. That they should stay at home. That they’re terrible drivers. And all that sort of thing.

He calls himself an absolute sexist and misogynist.

And the scariest thing is that the public—especially young people—eagerly lap up all this nonsense.

Почти четверть юных британцев (от 16 до 29 лет) оценивают Тейта позитивно. Около 30% не видят ничего плохого в “токсичной маскулинности”, которую олицетворяет собой наш персонаж. 

That's so much that it's cause for concern.

It seems to me that, lately, a great deal of attention has been focused on the rights of women and minorities. Neither of these things is a bad thing at all.

But heterosexual men have lost their moral compass.

What should a man be like, aside from asking his partner for consent before having sex, treating everyone as equals, and being as tolerant as possible?

There's no simple answer to this question, but we really want simple, clear answers!

And thanks to social media algorithms, a sexist and misogynist who has made a fortune by exploiting women and impressionable young minds is given a platform.

A holy place is never empty.