Despite the groundbreaking and heroic actions of women in the last 12 months, there’s one archetype sitting firmly on the horizon for 2025: the Alpha Male.
Last year saw Angela Rayner land the job of Deputy Prime Minister, and Kemi Badenoch became the first black woman to lead a major UK political party.
In the entertainment world, musician Raye became the first woman to ever win songwriter of the year at the Brit awards, and Gillian Anderson released a ground-breaking tell-all book about the deepest fantasies of women.
And, the world was moved by French heroine Gisele Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity in order to hold her rapist husband to account, saying: ‘I wanted… to ensure that society could see what was happening. I never have regretted this decision.’
But despite these trailblazing moments, the steadily growing popularity of the Alpha Male signals a dangerous cloud of toxic masculinity in 2025.
Trump and Farage… it’s worse than you think
According to political scientist and president of the Institute of European Policy Making, Catherine De Vries, the president-elect is the shining star of the Alpha Male stereotype: a hyper-masculine man who seeks to assert absolute authority, and values material wealth and strength.
While Andrew Tate brought the Alpha Male to mainstream media, Donald Trump is the reason it will boil over in popularity this year, as he steps into arguably the most powerful position on Earth.
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‘He’s that particular image of men – the pater familias [the father of the family who wields economic and legal power] – who, by extension, yields authority,’ Catherine tells Metro. ‘The few women in his cabinet team all look very traditionally feminine while his top advisers are mostly male.’
In fact, the 78-year-old Republican candidate’s cabinet choices have faced accusations around sexual assault and other crimes, as has he. Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies in relation to business records – the first former US president to be so – and found civilly liable for sexual abuse.
He selected Matt Gaetz for attorney general, who has been investigated for sex trafficking although no criminal charges were brought; Robert F. Kennedy Jr for the department of health and human services, who was accused of sexual assault by his children’s babysitter in a Vanity Fair article in July; Pete Hegseth for the department of defence who was accused of committing sexual assault in 2017 after speaking at a conference, but the claims are denied and no charges have been filed; and of course, Elon Musk for the department of government efficiency.
The billionaire has been accused of wrongfully firing eight SpaceX employees, who claimed in a lawsuit filed in June last year that the company tolerated sexual harassment in the workplace (although Musk hasn’t publicly commented on the allegations).
Musk is also reportedly in talks to donate a possible $100 million to UK political party Reform, headed by Nigel Farage. Despite a recent falling out, the pair seem to have reconciled and Farage is set to throw Trump ‘the biggest inauguration party’ in Washington DC, where Musk will be one of the 400 guests.
It’s this, alongside Trump’s influence, that could see their Alpha Male presence thrive on both sides of the pond.
‘I don’t have a crystal ball but ideas in politics usually happen at the same time – like Brexit happening the same year as the Trump administration taking control,’ Catherine explains.
‘If you take that as your model, we can expect Trump to aid Farage’s politics because it gives legitimacy to his presidency if another very important political figure says the same things.’
An example of this is the debate around abortion rights. Trump was responsible for the overturning of Roe v Wade. Now, Farage has suggested MPs debate roll back the abortion limit in the UK.
‘Farage is very much in the Alpha Male Trump manosphere. He probably thinks Trump can help him politically to get stuff done,’ adds Catherine
With Reform such a fast-growing influence in the UK, it’s no joke. The political party ranked third in vote share in the 2024 general election and is the most followed on TikTok with 327,000 followers – nearly 100,000 followers more than current governing party, Labour.
Reform is also the third most popular party among men aged 40 and for 16 to 17-year-old boys, Farage’s party was just as popular as Labour, according to a JL Partners poll conducted the week of the general election.
The party also had the highest number of social media interactions across all platforms in the general election, according to Crowdtangle. Farage himself – who once told Sky News Andrew Tate was ‘an important voice for men’ – has more than a million followers, and in November said: ‘Something remarkable is happening with Gen-Z.’
Worryingly, this means Farage’s calls to roll back abortion rights aren’t falling on deaf ears. And for those of you thinking that a woman’s right to choose is safe in the UK, Catherine warns otherwise.
‘That’s wishful thinking,’ she says. ‘The way in which those like Trump and Farage have been able to read the zeitgeist and emotionally charge their rhetoric will make it much less likely that people are going to switch and support a progressive political party instead – even when they have bad policies.
‘We’re going to see this for quite a considerable moment of time.’
Mark Zuckerberg has been Trumped
Another powerful tech billionaire that appears to be pedalling the Alpha Male narrative is Meta founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg made a handsome donation of $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund back in December, and then proceeded to follow in Musk’s footsteps, by scrapping his fact-checking program on Instagram and Facebook in an attempt to allow more freedom of expression.
Writing for Metro, Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir, a transgender woman and LGBTQ+ activist said: ‘Meta has claimed that this new policy is to allow for “free expression” on a platform where “billions of people can have a voice, all the good, bad and ugly is on display”. But I believe this is just an excuse to permit abuse.’
The Meta boss has even been accused of relaxing censorship to gain Trump’s favour, ahead of his return to the White House, after past claims by Republicans that Facebook had censored conservative views.
Zuckerberg has also taken an Alpha Male aim at the wider working world. The social media mogul appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast where he called for more masculine energy in corporate culture.
He said on the Joe Rogan Experience: ‘A lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered.
‘Masculine energy is good and society has plenty of that but I think corporate culture is really trying to get away from it… I think having a culture that celebrates the aggression a bit more has it’s own merits.’
Rogan also endorsed Trump back in November.
The ripple effect
It’s not just in positions of power that we’re seeing the Alpha Male stereotype become mainstream. BACP registered therapist Stefan Walters has noticed a real rise over the past couple of years of younger men feeling extreme pressure to conform – something which will snowball this year.
‘On the surface, typical characteristics of an Alpha Male might seem positive – qualities such as confidence, a strong sense of self, assertiveness, leadership, charisma, and a strong moral character,’ he explains to Metro.
‘However, this personality type is also associated with darker traits which may veer into misogyny, narcissism, controlling behaviours, emotional dysregulation, and an inability to cooperate.
‘The teenagers and 20-somethings I see are absolutely suffering internal conflict when it comes to who they feel they can be authentically, versus the idea of masculinity that social media is portraying. It’s really common.’
Stefan explains that prominent figures in the media like Trump and Tate, and even cancel culture surrounding the likes of Gregg Wallace – who was axed from MasterChef after allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour – is forcing a shift in how men view themselves.
One LBC caller recently dubbed Wallace an ‘Alpha Male icon’ after he was accused of making inappropriate jokes to women on the cooking show, constantly speaking about sex, domination and spanking.
‘With the likes of Gregg Wallace, young men are very afraid to say the wrong thing, or to put anyone in an awkward situation, so they feel very confused by that too,’ explains Stefan. ‘They feel isolated, demonised and that they’re the enemy and don’t know what to do with that.
‘And when it comes to Trump, how do you explain to a teenager that a sexual abuser has been elected president?’
With the UK standing on the precipice of an alarming uptick in violence against women and girls, with crimes against them increasing by 37% between 2018 and 2023, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Stefan says it’s vital that there are healthy community spaces where men can be emotionally open, authentic and vulnerable, allowing them to talk about their sexuality and identity, without feeling pressured to conform to the Alpha stereotype.
This, he believes, would stop them isolating themselves and becoming susceptible to toxic influences.
‘The Alpha Male stereotype victimises all sexes – nobody benefits from that idea,’ Stefan explains. ‘It means that people shut down emotionally, and nobody feels safe. Nobody can be vulnerable.
‘It’s just so harmful on so many levels. When they become isolated and disenfranchised, that’s when they’re vulnerable to things like Andrew Tate and his misogyny.’
Alpha Males, sex, and relationships
When it comes to sex, 2024 saw a significant increase in searches around Mormon women and tradwives, according to Pornhub’s end of year review.
As the most popular porn site in the world – where 74% of UK users are men – it shows an upward trend going into this year around male dominance. Content such as ‘Mormon threesome’ and ‘Mormon sex’ skyrocketed, while searches around modesty also increased by 77% on Pornhub, with a 45% rise in people wanting to watch a ‘modest MILF’.
Although it might be easy to dismiss these as simply ‘fantasy trends’, relationship psychologist Eloise Skinner warns that it’s not that simple.
‘Anything people are consuming on a regular basis, especially if it’s around expectations of intimacy that they wouldn’t have had modelled to them elsewhere other than in porn or online, can definitely filter through to behaviours with a partner – like controlling behaviour, possessiveness and dominance,’ she explains to Metro.
While this might appear concerning if you’re worried about dating and having sex next year, Eloise says it’s important to reflect internally on ‘the things that are important to you’.
‘This will allow you to go into dating with a really good sense of your own identity and protect yourself that bit more if you do come up against that kind of Alpha Male personality,’ she adds.
Taking action
Yes, it’s a bleak forecast, but rest assured the Alpha Male resurgence isn’t being taken lying down.
On X, users – including celebrities like Greg Davies and Paloma Faith – continue to leave the social media platform in droves. The day after Trump’s re-election, over 115,000 account were deactivated, the highest number since Elon Musk took over the site.
Trump’s victory also sparked a revival of the revolutionary 4B movement that originated in South Korea, in which straight women refuse to date, have sex with, or marry men, with Femi Wiki describing it as ‘the motto of radical feminism.’
Following his win, searches for the term shot up on Google and thousands of women across the US jumped on TikTok to claim they were going to join the movement.
People are also taking to the streets to express their outrage. The Women’s March in the US has a National People’s March planned for January 18 in Washington and every other state, to protest Trump’s return to the White House. The intent behind it is clear: ‘Our freedoms are inalienable, and we will not allow them to be threatened.’
In the UK, the grassroots group UK Women’s March 2025 will hold a protest on the same day, two days before Trump’s inauguration.
This demonstration will object to attacks on abortion rights, violence against women and girls and transphobia. In its mission statement on Facebook, the group said: ‘We are angry, and you should be too.
‘We’re marching… in solidarity with all oppressed women worldwide. We will be raising our voices for those who can’t raise theirs. Women are not free until all women are free.’
According to therapist Stefan Walters, such agency makes it clear all hope is not lost.
‘Every time something misogynistic comes out in public, there’s a massive backlash. Increasingly, people disown anyone who thinks this stuff is okay,’ he adds.
‘The zeitgeist is changing. I think humanity will win out.’
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