British supermodel David Gandy has said there is not enough narrative about “good men” and that Andrew Tate pushes a “disruptive” and “immature” idea of masculinity.
The 45-year old, who has his own fashion brand David Gandy Wellwear, is one of the best-paid male models and known for Dolce and Gabbana’s 2007 advert for Light Blue in which he wore a pair of white briefs.
He has also been backing the Centre for Social Justice’s Lost Boys campaign, which aims to raise awareness on the issues boys and young men are facing.
Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Gandy said that young men need better role models and that despite the good opportunities that come with social media and its ability to share information and build community, some take advantage of it.
He said: “When you’ve got unregulated information and the form of, should we say people like Andrew Tate who are sort of pushing a very immature, I would say, and disruptive idea of masculinity on to vulnerable young men, then that’s where the problem holds.
“There’s not enough narrative about good men.”
Gandy said he joined the campaign after frequently being asked to define masculinity in interviews which he described as very “strange” because masculinity is “quite broad”.
He said: “There’s not sort of one thing that fits all and a lot of the information, like Andrew Tate and a lot of other people in there, is pushing this very extreme form of masculinity, wrong form, and there’s not enough good examples out there of good, kind men and things they do.”
Gandy also said that he does not think the masculine role is being taken over by women as it is sometimes portrayed in film and TV.
He said: “I don’t think that’s quite true, I think there’s a good balance and there should be a good balance.
“I think all parents have to take certain roles and every parent and every situation is different.
“We are the first generation, I believe, my age, where we’re seeing the dads have to take on a different role. My wife’s a barrister. I certainly wouldn’t mess with her.”
