The Harm of Alpha Male Podcasts

Podcasts have not existed for very long, with the first ones popping up on the internet around 2004. Since then, they have exploded in popularity with millions of people listening to thousands of different podcasts all over the globe. Now, podcasts sit as one of the most popular forms of entertainment media, with nearly 600 million people listening or watching podcasts globally. Podcasts garner this much attention because of their accessibility and wide range of content, with there being a podcast for basically every different topic one could reasonably think of. However, with that being said, that wide range of content isn’t entirely positive, because in every form of media, there are those who use it to promote negativity. In the case of podcasts, the negativity largely stems from one specific genre: “alpha male podcasts”.

Of course, these alpha male podcasts are far from the only source of negativity present in the realm of podcasts, but they are certainly one of the loudest and most harmful. In case you’re wondering what an alpha male is, it is defined as the most dominant, powerful, or assertive man in a particular group, and is often used as a disparaging or negative remark. Because there are so many described and self-described alpha males out there, these podcasts allow for the relaying of general ideas alpha males crave and ultimately champion across a much wider audience; couple this with the existence of podcasts that have a much more mainstream presence, and you have a recipe for disaster. This is also bad because alpha male podcasts are also inherently harmful and reductive, with a lot of their claims and ideas centering on toxic masculinity and misogyny.

The most definite and important aspect of what alpha male podcasts preach is a social construct described as “toxic masculinity”, which is made up of a strict set of beliefs and ideas that seek to define what it means to be a man and go about it in one of the most harmful and reductive ways possible. The concept tries to bind men to ideas of being tough, strictly masculine, and powerful, while also denouncing them when they show signs of vulnerability or if they attempt to engage in “non-masculine” activities. Despite some traits of toxic masculinity not being bad on paper, when applied in real life, it leads to myriad harmful consequences when put into practice. Because of the expectations of toxic masculinity that ask men to suppress all emotions that aren’t anger, coupled with the need to be powerful, this often leads to an increase in the amount of violence that men engage in, with it also increasing the likelihood of domestic abuse, gender-based violence, gun violence, and sexual assault by men. Alongside that increased inclination to violence, it is also coupled with an extreme aversion to traditionally emasculating activities; this leads to significantly higher levels of misogyny and homophobia amongst men, as the activities women partake in are seen as lesser, and men partaking in them is seen as a sign of homosexuality and weakness. Toxic masculinity clearly has several physical consequences, but it can also lead to psychological issues. Some elements of toxic masculinity demand men to always be tough, which can lead to them constantly suppressing their emotions and experiences, which can result in them displaying emotions that make them look weak. These men, young or old, cover up their pain, trauma, loss, heartbreak, longing, etc., and that bottling of emotions and pain is what leads to men often suffering from increased levels of anxiety, depression, and isolation. But because admitting that they are dealing with said issues would also be an admission of weakness, they cover that up too. All this unhealthy emotional activity leads some men to suffer from much higher rates of suicide, alcohol and substance abuse, and behaviors that are considered risky. They don’t feel comfortable seeking help from professionals or those in their life, so they allow their emotions to fester until they end up doing things that harm them in hopes of escaping whatever it is they are feeling because they don’t want to risk being less of a man for crying when say their mom dies, for example. Toxic masculinity is so incredibly harmful, not only to the people who interact with men who practice it, but also to men themselves, who are just as much victims of the beliefs held by the tenets of toxic masculinity.

Along with perpetuating toxic masculinity, alpha male podcasts can also promote harmful and misogynistic beliefs about women towards young men. They objectify them [women] and present them as if they are trophies that young men need to chase after because it makes them seem more manly to be with a woman rather than searching for genuine companionship. This already distorts people’s ideas of what it means to be in a relationship by reducing it to a status symbol rather than an emotional connection with a person you care about. What makes it worse is that these alpha male podcasts also strongly promote ideas of emotionally manipulating and physically controlling the women with whom men are in relationships. The podcasts try to spin it as keeping the upper hand in one's relationship, which is profoundly harmful as it twists the idea of a loving relationship into a weird competition where men must abuse their partners to remain in charge, completely ignoring ideas of communication, trust, and mutual respect which healthy relationships are built on. These ideas serve to divide the relationship between men and women in society, bringing forth resentment that can be initiated by the structure of toxic masculinity and how it already affects men and the way they act towards women. As well as further increasing issues caused by toxic masculinity, such as misogyny, domestic abuse, increased loneliness, etc. it is obvious in the end that the way that alpha male podcast tries to portray the supposed relationships men should have with women is extremely harmful and degrading of what a relationship is meant to be, and serves to drive a wedge between men and women more than anything.

Coupling both these ideas with the fact that these alpha male podcasts have become incredibly accessible for people, it is clear that they are incredibly harmful for society. With this wide accessibility, it is so much easier for them to reach young men who can be more easily radicalized into believing the nonsense that these podcasts predicate themselves on and thereby spread their beliefs. This, unfortunately, can lead to even more men who end up damaging their relationships with women and harming themselves via the strict beliefs of toxic masculinity. This alone makes it more than clear that these podcasts are harmful. Coupled with the fact that toxic masculinity and misogyny aren’t the only forms of hate these podcasts promote, with them often promoting things such as homophobia, racism, or xenophobia it is more than evident that these podcasts serve to degrade society as a whole by acting as a nexus of hateful ideas that build off each other. 

Alpha male podcasts don’t try to engage in insightful conversations about the complexities of what it means to be a good man let alone person, but rather, it focuses on degrading people and genders based on their individual and biased viewpoints on how they believe the world should function. 

These alpha male podcasts are basing their identity on the misconception of certain animal behaviors; after all, men are not wolves.  

Alpha male podcasts are harmful because they promote toxic masculinity and misogyny in young men, alongside other harmful ideologies.

So to all young men out there who hold scum humans like Andrew Tate in high regard, listen with caution.