By Philip Mackenzie Holland

You hear a lot these days about traffickers, pimps, and shady influencers. But there’s one person who never seems to take the spotlight—the man who buys sex.

Without him, the whole sex trade collapses. No buyer, no market. It’s that simple.

But somehow, he’s invisible.

He might be your mate. Your boss. The guy in the next gym locker. No one talks about him. But he’s there. And what he’s doing is propping up a global system that turns women into products.

Walk through any red-light district or scroll through the right forums, and you’ll see how some men talk about women they’ve paid for. Not like people. Like objects. Like takeaway orders. She was “a bit tired,” “worth the money,” or “not as advertised.” It’s the language of ownership.

And what message does that send to the next generation of men? That the ultimate reward of being an adult man is getting to use someone else’s body without care for her choice, feelings, or future?

That’s not strength. That’s weakness. That’s outsourcing intimacy and using your wallet to avoid your conscience.

A lot of younger men today are getting sucked into this idea that being a man means dominating, consuming, and never apologizing. Influencers like Andrew Tate don’t invent this—they just put a camera on it. What they’re really doing is selling a cheap knock-off of masculinity. They say “be a lion,” but what they mean is “be a customer.” Pay for power. Buy control. That’s not being a lion—that’s being a hyena circling someone else’s pain.

Real masculinity isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to show off. Real masculinity is about protecting, not preying. A real man doesn’t treat a woman’s body like a product on a shelf. He respects it, even if he’s never going to be close to her. Even if he’s never going to meet her.

The uncomfortable truth is this: every sex buyer fuels demand. And wherever there’s demand, someone steps in to supply it—often by force, by fraud, or through desperation. That’s why just targeting pimps or traffickers isn’t enough. As long as buyers are untouched, the system keeps going.

So here’s the challenge: if you actually care about women—your sister, your mate’s girlfriend, your future partner—you’ve got to care about this. You don’t have to become a preacher or a protestor. Just start with this: don’t pay for sex. Don’t turn a blind eye when your mates do. And don’t pretend it’s harmless.

You’re not powerless. You’re not a passenger. You’re a man, and that means something. Use that to build, not to break. Stand up for women not because they’re weak, but because you’re strong.

You want to be a man… start here