While Andrew Kenton claims to be the ultimate nice guy on 90 Day Fiancé, his misogynistic actions belie his self-proclaimed feminism. In season eight, Andrew Kenton has done fans a service by providing a perfect example of the trope of the toxic nice guy. This archetype has been around for a while, but has never been displayed in a reality TV show with such clarity. "Nice guys" are men who label themselves good people (or Kind Dragons, in Andrew's case) and claim to be feminists without actually having any respect for women.
Andrew Kenton ended his season as the most villainous person on season eight. He fought tooth and nail to convince audiences his negative portrayal was simply the product of "TV tricks." However, fans had no doubt about Andrew's true behavior after his texts to Amira briefly popped up on the screen. His abusive and controlling texts solidified what many were already thinking: that Andrew was not the patient and well-meaning victim he had been trying to paint himself as. In fact, many fans felt his self-victimization was just another way to make his partner, Amira, look like the bad guy, which Andrew tried to do all season. Amira recently recalled her time with Andrew by saying, "I believed him and his constant reproaches. I apologized and took the blame. Every single day. I thought I was worth nothing. I lost myself."
What makes Andrew's toxic behavior even worse is that he claims to be a feminist. In fact, he penned an entire poem in 2014 where he mansplained what feminism is and patted himself on the back for his views. The poem, titled "A Letter to My Gender," includes groundbreaking, world-shattering lines such as, "We need to stop cracking jokes like 'make me a sandwich, b*tch get in the kitchen!'" and, "There is no justification for sexual assault or rape, those are things no one deserves." In 1500, this would have been a pretty bold poem, but in today's world, it's barely even the bare minimum.
Andrew may think he's a feminist, but his actions show otherwise. For one thing, he criticized Amira for using lip fillers and filters in one of his many defensive Instagram posts. If he were a real feminist, he would know women have the right to do whatever they like to their bodies. Furthermore, he would understand the pressure from the patriarchy to fit a certain beauty standard and would not bring Amira down for trying to measure up. One line in Andrew's poem states, "As a man, I can never really understand the true extent of what women may experience. In some ways I’m grateful because giving birth sounds intense." This makes his pressuring of Amira to have children very hypocritical and selfish.
Andrew seems to have very antiquated ideas about gender roles. In one Instagram post where he belittled Amira's father, he said he is "more of a man than [her father] will ever be." The reason? He "supports [himself] and others financially." If Andrew was truly a feminist, he would understand the role of men as providers is born out of toxic gender stereotypes that hurt both men and women. Even 90 Day Fiancé alum David Toborowsky could see Andrew's misogyny, as he commented on a Facebook thread that Andrew "treats women like objects." It certainly appeared as though Andrew saw Amira as a thing that was going to be delivered to him one way or another. Her concerns came second to Andrew's desire to get what he wanted.
If Andrew respects women, why would he not treat his girlfriend with respect? He clearly doesn't see Amira as his equal – his texts showed how much he infantilized her, as he literally compared her to the toddlers in his day care. His treatment of Amira, comments on her appearance, and his outdated views on gender prove Andrew is not the feminist icon he hoped to be. Let Andrew be a lesson to us all to be wary of those who claim to be nice, but whose actions say otherwise.
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April 04, 2021 at 05:31AM
