Alpha males are an increasingly popular cultural phenomenon. Defined as “bold, self-confident, and demanding” by the Harvard Business Review, these men are known by the term “alpha male” because they believe they are dominant and are better than other groups such as women, those who are less financially prosperous than them, and regular males who don’t exhibit the same characteristics that they do. At the forefront of the popularization of this term are influencers across social media websites who spread their message in loud videos. These videos are made by influencers for the sole purpose of flaunting their wealth to show other men that affluence is what comes out of being an alpha. Whether it’s a TikTok about alpha male influencer Andrew Tate or an Instagram post guiding followers on how to “become an alpha,” there is a clear connotation that goes along with this. 

The influencers explain how to become successful economically and romantically by following the rules of the alpha man— what they call the superior man. Some people seem to believe that these influencers are qualified to spread this information. Part of why they’re so supported is because their ideas are very compelling and tempting to a certain demographic. Alpha male culture and sexism seem to go hand and hand though. The dangerous temptation of this culture appeals to men who have struggled to be successful and see the culture and ways of these males as a way to become rich. Alpha male culture negatively impacts society in many ways, as their ideas are offensive and harmful to a large number of people.

In modern day society, the workforce is quickly becoming balanced, with the wage gap rapidly closing in 22 metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. (NPR). Additionally, according to Matthew Zane of Zippia, women now make up about 47% of the workforce, which means men have to compete much more with women to get jobs or promotions than they did in the past. For some men who can’t seem to succeed, blaming women for their problems or objectifying women seems easier than admitting that they have achieved their success through merit. Some men have been attracted to the idea that the way to get rich and be successful is by being an alpha male, carrying confidence, and taking what they want. On platforms like TikTok and YouTube, alpha male influencers describe what they think makes a man a real alpha. Their beliefs are highly troubling. Alpha males consider women to be objects meant to be admired and taken care of and believe that women don’t belong in the workforce, according to the Guardian. Alpha males also don’t consider any man that doesn’t take control of what he wants, no matter the cost, to be worth as much as an alpha male. They think that men should take what they want physically, and that showing emotion is weak.

Women are the primary target of the alpha community’s regressive views. Alpha males make the argument that they love women so much that they want to provide for them and take care of them, but don’t want them to have a mind of their own. Those who subscribe to this worldview claim women should not have to work, and men are doing women a favor by allowing them to stay out of the workforce. These dominating men spew out monologues about wanting to protect women— but only the ones they consider to be worthy are what Tate calls, “high value” women –  submissive women who will follow them blindly. Alpha influencers have concocted a myth of the ideal woman, and the modern, empowered woman is the opposite of that. A high achieving woman is a threat to an alpha male because she challenges his self-imposed role and perceived importance.

One of the most well-known self-proclaimed alpha males, Andrew Tate, went from a micro celebrity to one of the most talked about topics on social media in a matter of months due to his controversial ideas. Tate first garnered infamy by running Hustlers University, a program where customers paid Tate $49 per month in exchange for Tate teaching them how to get rich. The program included courses on cryptocurrency and stocks and presented itself as a way to rapidly gain wealth. It eventually came out in an article by The Guardian that the entire program was a pyramid scheme in which members who referred new people got 48% commission for every person they referred. Additionally, after being banned from TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram in August, Tate shut down the site without compensating his customers, according to Forbes. 

Despite this controversial scam and the absence of a social media presence, many people continued to follow Tate’s advice and ideas on the ‘anti-cancel culture’ platform Rumble. His audience continues to believe in his views because they want a way to get rich quick. They want a way to feel like they mean something, and if someone comes along giving them a plan and telling them to blame others for the problems they feel they have, chances are they are going to take advantage of that. It’s easy for vulnerable people to fall into someone’s scheme when they are desperate to succeed. 

It makes sense for an insecure man to adopt alpha beliefs. It’s instinctual to want to solve problems easily, but what is bad is when there is this idea of toxic masculinity which becomes harmful to others. Women should be treated well and properly loved as well as appreciated for their hard work without having insecure men belittle their accomplishments.. Men like Andrew Tate manipulate the feelings of young, impressionable boys, not in the interest of actually helping them, but helping himself and making money. 

The mentality of the alpha male is dangerous as a culture. Being aggressive toward others and stopping at nothing is not the way to happiness and success. Anger and violence filled videos are not the kind of content people need to be consuming. Additionally, alpha males should not have large audiences who will shove money at them, fund their fraudulent schemes, and feed their idea that they’re in the right. Many of the people being captured into the whirlpool of these tempting ideas are young boys who see wealth, women, and muscle and begin to yearn for these things themselves. Alpha male influencers use manipulation tactics to grow large followings of these young men to make money to fund their luxurious lifestyles. These are backwards and childish ideas, especially at the expense of knowingly corrupting young minds.