A mother revealed that her son was ‘red pilled,’ similar to the themes in Netflix’s Adolescence, at just 11 years old, and she has spent the past four years trying to reshape his mindset.
Rachel Parker noticed her son, Spencer, now 15, repeating misogynistic statements he had picked up from online influencers.
When he casually told her, “Women are gold diggers,” Rachel immediately challenged him, asking where he had heard such a thing.
The young boy explained that he had come across these ideas in videos by controversial influencer Andrew Tate, which had appeared on his YouTube feed.
Rachel Parker, 33, said she found herself intervening in conversations as recently as a year ago, addressing topics like women ‘respecting their bodies’ and the tendency to blame men for ‘everything.’
She was deeply upset by Spencer’s growing skepticism toward women, especially since he was raised without a father figure.
However, just a few weeks ago, she overheard him calling out a friend for speaking disrespectfully about his mother—an interaction that made her proud of the man he is becoming.
Following the popularity of Netflix’s Adolescence, Rachel is now urging parents to recognize the warning signs of ‘red pilling’ and offering advice on how to challenge problematic beliefs.
The Nottinghamshire mother said her son claimed all women were ‘gold diggers,’ a belief she suspects he adopted from influencers like Andrew Tate.
Rachel posted a TikTok video explaining how her son was ‘red pilled,’ similar to the themes in Netflix’s Adolescence.
YouTube stated that it terminated channels associated with Andrew Tate in 2022 and actively removes content promoting Incel ideology.
Rachel Parker, a mother from Nottinghamshire, recalled a moment when her son casually remarked, “Well, women are just gold diggers anyway.”
“I remember thinking, that’s a strange thing for an 11-year-old to say,” she said. “So I asked him where he heard it, and he told me he’d seen men discussing it online.”
She explained that her son initially watched typical gaming videos, but over time, this kind of content began filtering into his feed.
“He watched one video, then another popped up, and because he liked that one, more kept coming.”
Rachel frequently found herself addressing problematic ideas from these videos, including discussions about women ‘not respecting themselves’ and those involved in OnlyFans—despite the fact that, at his age, he didn’t even know what OnlyFans was.
“He just jumped on the hate train,” she said. “At one point, he even said he was sick of everyone ‘blaming men for everything.’”
YouTube stated that it removed channels linked to Andrew Tate (pictured) for repeatedly violating its Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, including its hate speech policy.
The term ‘red pilled’ originates from a scene in The Matrix, where the protagonist is given a choice to take the red pill. In Netflix’s Adolescence, the concept is explained as an awakening to the so-called ‘truth’ about gender dynamics. (File image)
The Netflix series Adolescence follows a family whose world is shattered when 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is arrested for murder after being radicalized online.
Rachel explained, “It really threw me off because I’ve raised him to be aware of feminist issues and the system he lives in.
He mentioned watching Andrew Tate to me.
“I never stifled any part of his personality or made him feel like he needed to seek a community in places like that.
“He was essentially denying his own lived experience, especially since he’s been raised by women. His dad’s not around, so it’s just been me and my family raising him.”
“My sisters, my mum, my grandmas—they’ve all been deeply involved in his upbringing.
Then, out of nowhere, he started turning his back on us and adopting these beliefs.
It upset me more than anything, and I found myself questioning what I had done wrong.
If I had ignored it, that would have been the wrong choice.
Misogyny is everywhere, but recognizing it and realizing it was something I had to confront was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
It was also the most important thing I’ve done as a parent.”
In Adolescence, the main character is radicalized by Incel ideology. Rachel has watched the first two episodes of the series with Spencer, and they plan to finish it soon.
Stephen Graham plays the role of Jamie’s dad in the hit Netflix show
In the Netflix series, the main character displays misogynistic views and appears to have been indoctrinated into Incel ideology through online influence.
The term “red pilled” originates from a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix, where the lead character is given the choice to take a red pill, leading him to understand the illusion of the Matrix.
In Netflix’s Adolescence, the “red pill” symbolizes an awakening to the “truth” about gender issues.
Rachel watched the first two episodes of Adolescence with Spencer, and they plan to finish the series soon.
She shared, “He doesn’t usually put his phone down, but he set it aside to watch Adolescence and was really engaged with it. It was emotional, for sure, and I worry about children of this generation—not just the girls, but the boys too. The key to starting these conversations is simply starting them.”
Rachel mentioned that just a few weeks ago, her son called out his friends for the language they used about women, and she’s proud of how he responded.
She added, “He’s now reached a point where he sees Andrew Tate as a caricature of the red pill movement. He used to like him, but now he thinks he’s a joke.”
Researchers from the University of Rome found that depression, paranoia, and anxiety can make men more likely to become Incel.
Rachel said, “He’s now in a mindset of not wanting to be like the men he saw in those videos.”
She recalled a moment a couple of weeks ago when Spencer was playing on his PlayStation with his friends.
“One of them used a slur for ‘whore,’ and my son immediately called him out. He said, ‘You do not talk about your mum like that. She deserves respect because she brought you into this world.’
“He told him it was disgusting and suggested he go apologize for saying it. I was really proud of him for that; it shows growth.”
Spencer himself said, “Watching Adolescence was really eye-opening. It shows what happens when a boy is exposed to that stuff online and faces the social pressures of having a girlfriend, which is why I focus more on schoolwork than that.
“I now find this online content cringe. It’s embarrassing to watch those people express these opinions so loudly, knowing that others will believe them without question.”
In 2022, YouTube stated that it terminated channels associated with Andrew Tate for multiple violations of its Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, including the hate speech policy.
Reuploading content from a terminated channel violates YouTube’s policies, and such videos will be removed.
YouTube’s long-standing Community Guidelines make it clear that hate speech is not allowed on the platform. As part of this policy, YouTube also removes content promoting Incel ideology, including recruitment into the Incel community.
