We began our discussion with the big question
“To what extent should freedom of speech and action be considered dangerous, and disruptive to the progress of the Feminism Movement?”
This was particularly apt due to all the controversy in the media currently regarding Andrew Tate, and his opinion, which he passionately seems to express, relating to the treatment of women, and the manner in which every man should conduct himself in. He clearly objectifies women and encourages ill treatment of them. He then goes onto support, what we would call, “toxic masculinity". He infamously states that women are men’s property and that it is a man’s job to provide for her. So, in a world and society in which there is a movement to encourage more sensitivity within men, where we are steering away from toxic, masculine expectations and fighting hard to raise awareness regarding sexual assault, with the ME TOO movement, to what extent are his views dangerous and damaging? Should we put a stop to this? Or, are we living in too much of an intolerant society, where views against the norm are immediately met with hostility, rather than an attempt to understand where they are coming from?
Overall, the general consensus was that Andrew Tate specifically should be banned. Encouraging immoral actions is always wrong, and particularly because of his heavy influence and following, he is teaching the wrong thing, which is dangerous. Nevertheless, an important point was also raised; that society as a whole is becoming too woke. Some felt as though we should be able to live in a world where we accept all views and beliefs, despite their unpopularity. We should teach children to have individualistic minds, rather than ones which are influenced heavily by others. However, there is a thin line between views which are damaging and ones which are simply unpopular. Some suggested that social media should be more involved and be wary of things which are posted but also other posed the view that this could take away from our basic freedoms of speech. So, the big question is: where do we draw the line? At what point is it too much?