As strongmen rhetoric infects our politics, has Andrew Tate’s gateway content helped pave the way?

New research has revealed that the radicalisation of boys by “manfluencer” Andrew Tate mirrors the pathways of extremist groups — potentially posing a growing cultural threat in Australia. 

Against a backdrop of various reports about the right-wing radicalisation of young men, especially in light of the US election, a recent study conducted by Monash University’s Professor Steven Roberts and lecturer Dr Stephanie Wescott, which analysed more than 2,200 of Tate’s online posts, shows how his content starts as seemingly harmless self-improvement advice, but can lead young men toward a deeply misogynistic, anti-democratic ideology.

In the wake of Trump’s electoral victory, Tate, who has more than 10 million followers on X, tweeted that “Donald Trump single handedly kept two evil warmongering she-witches out of office”, and boasted that “the men are back in charge”.

He has also repeatedly praised Trump, urging his American followers to vote for him ahead of the 2024 election, stating those who oppose him should be “expelled from the country.”

While Tate’s extreme views are no secret — in his documentary I Am Andrew Tate he espouses nuggets of wisdom such as: “Female self-defence is a joke. What the fuck are you going to do when your face is collapsed?”; that women belong in the home, can’t drive, and that rape victims must “bear responsibility” for their attacks — Roberts reckons media should focus on reporting on his more moderate content, which makes up 89% of his work. 

According to Roberts, Tate’s messaging is framed as self-help and personal development for men, making his ideology appear more palatable and harder to challenge — not to mention easier for young boys to use as a weapon against women, including their female teachers. This mirrors the strategies of extremist groups on platforms like Reddit, 4chan, Discord and TikTok, where far-right ideas are often embedded in humorous memes, ironic content, and in-jokes. This kind of framing and content acts as a gateway, Roberts says. 

“What gives this content its appeal is that it’s packaged as a self-improvement product with hateful themes and benevolent sexism subtly woven in,” he says. “As with any form of extremism, this feel and appearance of non-threatening, non-radical, and life-improving support is what makes it insidious, attractive and ultimately influential.”

Growing numbers of teachers are reporting their experience of misogyny in schools, backed by various studies to support their claims. “The foundation of this study is actually our research into sexism, sexual harassment and misogyny at schools, where there has been a resurgence of masculinist supremacy among boys … a new-found confidence, if you will, inspired by Andrew Tate’s view of masculinity,” Roberts tells Crikey. 

“We’ve had teachers tell us that boys are saying brazen things like commenting on their and female students’ bodies, saying girls don’t need a job because they can be on OnlyFans, and using Tate as a weapon against teachers, asking teachers what they think of him etc”.   

Tate’s play is that he masks extreme sexism by promoting self-improvement through wealth accumulation, physical strength and combat readiness as core masculine traits. His discourse also revolves around hierarchy, individualism, essentialism and order, which reinforce traditional ideas of male dominance.

“I think the media does focus more on the sensationalist elements of what he has to say,” Roberts says. The circulation of the material on social media and more mainstream media (often picked up from social media posts) “is the gateway to going to see his website, where people are then exposed to his more overt self-help — learning to be a ‘successful man’ content”. 

The rise of the “manosphere” more generally has well and truly hit Australian shores, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton recently telling millionaire and TV star Mark Bouris on his podcast Straight Talk that young men “have had enough” of being painted as ogres and being passed over for promotions because of the rise of affirmative action policies.

Dutton has since promised to slash 36,000 diversity equality and inclusion (DEI) bureaucrats (a figure disputed by the Sydney Morning Herald, which estimates those roles make up less than 1% of major departments in Australia). And while federal Labor has moved to nail down a bill that would lock large employers from providing goods or services to the Australian government if they fail to nominate and make progress towards specific gender equality targets, the seeds of doubt have been planted — even in men who are ridiculed by Tate.

Ironically, Roberts points out, it’s precisely these types of men — “the betas” — Tate hates that are attracted to him.

“What’s really sad and interesting is that … the very kids that go to him for help are the very kind of kids that he hates, and is really mean about, but he still extracts their money through subscriptions to his so-called university online,” he says. Tate calls these boys the “betas”, framing them as “saddos”.

“He is quite overt about ‘non-alpha’ men, but takes their money anyway.”

Roberts fears that the US election is a “test case” for what’s happening worldwide, such as the return of the “strong man” to lead the nation.

In October last year, Talbot Mills Research found that as much as 43% of young Australian men said they’d vote for Trump if they could, compared to 34% who’d vote for Harris. For women, the number was minuscule, leading director of Talbot Mills Research, David Talbot, to comment “the gender split among under 30s is quite stark”.

But political strategist Kos Samaras says he’s seeing something more unexpected in Australia compared to the US. 

“Trump’s attraction to voters in the US has a lot to do with class — a lot of young men are starting to vote based on their economic position in life, and a sense of them not being represented by the Democrats,” he tells Crikey. 

In Australia, however, the reported influence of “those sort of individuals [Tate] is probably overstated, particularly with young men in the outer suburbs and regions, who people think are conservative but probably [are] not as much as we think”. 

“They may feel a sense of abandonment from politics, but that’s not unusual for young people in this country, ” Samaras says. “When we surveyed 18 to 34-year-olds last year and asked them if they have a value connection with a single registered party in this country, 48% said no. Contrast that to almost 80% when it comes to baby boomers.” 

Instead, Samaras says men like Tate are appealing to boys from well-off families and private school settings, something he says is ripe for more research. 

Either way, the strong men rhetoric is certainly infecting Australia, just as it is infecting other mature democracies, which are expressing a widening gender divide in politics: women increasingly lean left, while young men drift right, often feeling sidelined and seeking validation for perceived grievances. Although Australia’s compulsory voting system has muted electoral impacts so far, experts warn this discontent could spark a homegrown populist wave.

Pollsters like Samaras warn many disengaged young men remain politically untethered, making them susceptible to radicalisation if a Trump-like figure emerges. As social divides deepen, the risk of backlash against feminism and diversity efforts grows, threatening Australia’s social fabric.

As for Tate himself, it’s recently been reported that Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell has requested that Tate and his brother, who are banned from leaving Romania while they await trial on allegations of rape, trafficking minors and money laundering, have their passports returned to them so they can travel while waiting for the criminal case against them to conclude. 

Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.