How toxic masculinity and queer hostility are taking over schools

The debate about which topics should be acceptable for children and young people and which should be taboo has recently been reignited. It is understandable why: Here is just a small collection of ideas that your child could get from the internet: "I think the women belong to the man." "Why would you be with a woman who's not a virgin anyway? She is used goods. Second hand." "Females are the ultimate status symbol. People think I'm running around with these hoes because I like sex. That's nothing to do with the reason why I'm running around with these bitches. I got these bitches just so everyone knows who the don is."

Of course, these are not the hotly debated ideas of teachers or school textbooks, but of Andrew Tate, an influencer who is currently accused of rape and human trafficking in Romania and the UK – and yet still influences the world-view of countless young men. He has almost 10 million followers on X alone (previously Twitter). Although many of his own profiles have been banned from social media platforms, his ideas continue to circulate as clips in videos by other influencers, promising to give young men in particular an identity and help them become a "good man".