You’ve undoubtedly seen queen Drew Afualo pop up on your TikTok fyp. She’s usually shutting down a gross misogynistic man with her iconic laugh and swift no-nonsense takedowns. Plus she has some of the most fkn gorgeous nails on the internet.
Despite it being the year of our Lord 2022, misogyny is literally everywhere online. You can curate your feeds as much as you want but it’s out there lurking. It’s virtually impossible to scroll through socials without seeing a gross sweaty man yelling about women. Sorry no one wants to have sex with you because you’re sexist and boring, Dave!
In amongst the mire, Drew Afualo is a kind of feminist Batman. Chances are if you come across a stupid, sexist take she’s already stitched it and thoroughly clowned the OG poster. As is right.
Drew spoke to PEDESTRIAN.TV about her specific brand of callouts: one infused with humour and a “no bullshit” response.
The TikToker first went viral after she made a video about red flags in men
“After that went viral I got a whole influx of hate, specifically from men,” Drew said.
“[That] started the ball rolling as far as me responding to hate and making fun of them back.”
Observe, a classic Drew viddy:
@drewafualo liar liar plants for hire (again) LMFAO #fyp #xyzbca #girls #men #funny #college #embarrassing #PlutoTVDecades ♬ original sound – Drew Afualo
The jokes? Impeccable. The takedown? Swift, to the point, hilarious.
@drewafualo let’s try again LMFAO #fyp #xyzbca #girls #men #funny #college #embarrassing #ForzaHorizon5GO ♬ original sound – Drew Afualo
@drewafualo they tryin to be creative w the wording now LMFAO #fyp #xyzbca #girls #men #funny #college #embarrassing #OscarsAtHome #WomenOwnedBusiness #HaloSilverTeam #BridgertonScandal #InstaxChallenge ♬ original sound – Drew Afualo
It’s easy to see why her content resonates with young women. Drew reckons her content performs well because it’s not about education. So often, the burden is placed on women and other minority creators to explain and educate why bigoted words and actions are offensive.
That attitude rests on the assumption that everyone should be given space to learn, even if their platform is based on making misogynistic content. Drew doesn’t play by those rules.
“I don’t waste time trying to educate full grown men on why they shouldn’t be [openly] horrible on the internet,” said Drew.
“I don’t spend time providing all these cited resources of why it’s harmful to say things like that, why the patriarchy hurts all of us. I don’t waste time trying to have, like, an educated discourse with them.
“I truly just make them regret ever making that video.”
Drew’s content is empowering because it flips the expectation of women to happily educate men on its head. It’s also proof of just how effective platforms like TikTok can be for directly confronting bigotry.
“Because of the patriarchy, women are inherently expected to be patient and kind and understanding and to provide space for men to learn from their mistakes, even if they’re on the receiving end of it,” she explained.
“They’re always expected to take the high road and I just do not waste time doing that.”
Drew in her own words doesn’t “waste time being nice to terrible people”. Plus, her content clearly debunks the harmful, sexist ideas she argues against anyway.
@drewafualo she’s sick but she’s still out here LMFAO #fyp #xyzbca #girls #men #funny #college #embarrassing #LinkBudsNeverOff #OREOBdayStack ♬ original sound – Drew Afualo
Her platform has now grown to a point where she finds men deliberately making inflammatory content just to get a stitch from her. But the hate doesn’t bother her.
“Hate never affects me, literally ever,” she said.
“I feel like sometimes people think I’m kidding when I say that [but] it doesn’t bother me literally in the slightest. And it’s truly because I do not value the opinions of bigots.”
Drew’s content makes it clear that she is simply not interested in catering to men. But occasionally she does hear from men that have learned from her videos.
“I’ll have men comment on my videos and say ‘I used to think this way and the way that you explained it to me really helped me understand why I shouldn’t be thinking that way anymore’,” said Drew.
“I’ve also had men tell me that they really used to hate me, which is not a compliment,” she said.
“[But] then after watching my videos a lot they understand now like what it is I do and why I do it the way I do it.”
Obv we shouldn’t be congratulating men for doing the literal bare minimum. It’s kind of cringe that anyone would openly admit to hating a woman because she dares to call out misogyny in a way that doesn’t cater to them. But it is proof that Drew’s approach — which doesn’t cater to men’s feelings but puts the harmfulness of their actions at the centre — is effective and powerful.
https://twitter.com/DrewAfualo/status/1508010483630198785?s=20&t=MbF3NVie4lwunpJ8lCSc2g
Central to that is her sense of humour. Good god, it’s satisfying to see misogynists being taken down by someone who’s clearly having a fkn great time doing it.
“I realised early on when I started kind of making this content that people are a lot more likely to gravitate towards [humour],” she explained.
“It’s putting it in a way that they can digest and really understand.”
Drew said she felt “honoured and lucky to be a mouthpiece for women and many other marginalised groups”.
“I’m just very thankful for the platform and just for the opportunity to be a TikTok creator,” she said.
And I’m fkn thankful every time one of her vids pops up on my TikTok fyp. So win win for everyone! Except the misogynists.
