If you use social media for at least an hour a day, chances are that you have heard of a man named Andrew Tate. An ex-pro kickboxer and a partially-banned social media star, Andrew Tate comes off as a man with a very documentary-worthy set of characteristics. Some see him as a misogynist who mistreats every woman he meets; others worship him, looking up to and praising his masculinity and confidence; the rest see him as a regular bald guy with a cigar in his mouth showing off his wealth and saying very random things that aren’t worth to be thought about. Well, then, who is he actually? Is there a reason why he is acting so weird? Is he a role model or an Internet freak? Perhaps, as any other matter in life, the story of Andrew Tate is a story of two different sides of a single coin. 

Personally, I see why many people find him either off-putting or highly likeable. Regarding his “evil” side, let’s face it: he is an actual misogynist. What he says about women is discriminatory, often referring to “what a real relationship between men and women should be like”. He comments on women being bad drivers, their belonging to a kitchen, and their inherent duty to stay at home to keep the house clean. He often draws parallels between men and women, always describing men as superior to women in virtually every way. Such look is wrong and extremely diminishing to say the least, and it should not be promoted under any circumstances, especially in such a highly progressive world we live in today. Still, he is the one who gets a cult-like following from millions of people, and his popularity doesn’t seem to stop growing. Why is that?

Well, there is another side of Andrew Tate, the one which is closely bound to his male audience. In my opinion, Andrew would make a very good actor, as it is clear to me that whatever he says about men can be staged to look very appealing to machismo of his male audience. If he indeed means whatever he says, then there are perhaps some of his characteristics worth looking up to. He makes countless references to the need in a strong character, discipline, respect for hard work, and unstoppable grind – his view on the pillars of a strong man, which I personally relate to in many ways, if not all. Opposite to his advocacy for “traditional” masculinity, there has been a growing horde of people supporting the contrary – embracing weakness of one’s character, suppressing all attributes of the masculinity they refer to as “toxic”, and promoting not taking take of one’s body and mind, emphasizing that all of the above are unnatural and unnecessary. With both sides considered, it is no one’s business to say how a particular group should act or look like; however, if I had to choose whom to pay my attention to, I’d listen to someone who stands up for what mother nature had in mind, as this is what the humankind has been doing for thousands of years, from protecting one’s family from hungry hyenas to working night shifts to put food on the table. 

So, is Andrew Tate good or evil? If we were to come to any conclusion here, then it would be wise to finalize his spirit as a perfect example of imperfections – a characteristic innate to all creatures. After listening to Andrew, it is in our interests to teach ourselves, especially in the SNS medium, what not to take seriously and what to look up to and embrace in ourselves. If it was up to me, I would certainly recommend adhering to the core principles Andrew Tate has in mind, only after some obviously toxic and archaic views on women and misogynism are filtered out beforehand.