Worrying number of British teen boys still approve of Andrew Tate, study finds
Andrew Tate is notorious for his sexist drivel. (Getty)
Professional misogynist Andrew Tate is still having a worrying effect on young boys in the UK, a YouGov poll has found.
Data suggests that 23 per cent of UK boys aged between 13 and 15 have a positive view of the influencer, while 25 per cent agree with what he has to say.
The former Big Brother star is now infamous for his social media videos where he makes explicitly sexist remarks and pushes online conspiracy theories, while advertising his controversial Hustler University.
Tate, who is also currently facing rape, human trafficking and exploitation charges in Romania – all of which he denies – has become one of the most concerning influences on boys and young men across UK schools.
The YouGov poll surveyed 1,106 children aged between six and 15, with 346 aged at least 13.
Overall, 11 per cent of children said they had a good opinion of Andrew Tate, while 33 per cent had a bad view of him and 46 per cent hadn’t heard of him.
His popularity was highest among boys, with 17 per cent of males aged six to 15 saying they had a positive view of him, compared with just five per cent of girls.
The main draw for Tate’s young fans seems to be his views on working and success, with 20 per cent of all male respondents saying they agree with him on work ethic.
Twelve per cent agreed with his views on how women should be treated.
Interestingly, Tate’s treatment of women is the only topic that 13 to 15 year olds agree less with than those aged between six and 12. Thirteen per cent of his fan base aged 12 and below agree with his views on women, while 11 per cent of the older-age group share those views.
A similar study conducted by YouGov in May, involving adult men, revealed that 93 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 had heard of Tate, with 24 per cent of them agreeing with his views on women.
Despite admitting that they shared his views, many respondents disagreed with a number of his more extreme remarks, with seven per cent believing that it can be a woman’s fault if she is raped or sexually assaulted.
Shockingly, 14 per cent of 18-29 year olds agree with Andrew Tate that a woman is her husband’s property, while 12 per cent think it is wrong for a woman to have had lots of sexual partners.
A number of professional educators have warned of the deeply unsettling influence that Tate has on the younger generation, saying that it could lead to profoundly troubling consequences in the future.
In May, one teacher wrote for PinkNews that they had seen a “sharp shift” in misogynistic attitudes brought about by Tate.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when his influence filtered down into the schools I worked in,” they said. “But after lockdown-induced remote learning, it was not difficult to notice the increase in discriminatory language alongside the rapid decline in overall student conduct.
“This manifestation of loud, rampant misogyny and abuse, spilling over into intolerant homophobia and transphobia, will continue to roll on in our schools until we, as a society, can get a handle on extinguishing the fires that social media fuels, and characters like Andrew Tate start.”
