Andrew Tate was never "just trolling"

It's a persistent bit of wishful thinking in our culture, that misogynist talk somehow has no relationship to actual violence against women. Donald Trump, for instance, was able to wave away a tape of him bragging about sexual assault by claiming it was just "locker room talk." It was not, as a jury found just this spring, ruling that journalist E. Jean Carroll told the truth when she said Trump sexually assaulted her in the 90s.

The pandemic, of course, is the most dramatic event in the lives of kids (and everyone) in the past few years and got the lion's share of the blame for these stomach-churning numbers. But what cannot be overlooked as a likely factor: American boys are swimming in online propaganda that celebrates sexual violence as both their god-given right and as a way to demonstrate their manliness. One of the most famous figures in the world of teenage boys right now is imprisoned in Romania on charges of rape and forcing women into sex work. It's highly unlikely that the legions of boys who admire Tate and imitate his workouts, his tastes, and his rhetoric aren't also emulating the violence against women celebrated in Tate's videos.

#Salon #Opinion #Misogyny #SexualViolence #Assholes