“Women love men who can be violent if need be. That’s why they like men who hit them,” Bulgarian influencer Zornitsa Gyutsova tells her followers.
Gyutsova suggests that not only do women prefer men who physically assault them, but that this is also the way men should behave because a woman should respect a man’s physical power since she is “unable to comprehend his intellectual power.”
This is the kind of “advice” that can be found on Gyutsova’s social media profiles and in a private group founded by her on Telegram called “Upstanding man.”
‘Equality is contrary to human nature’
Zornitsa Gyutsova offers her followers private chats over video where she teaches them how to “deal with” women — for a fee, of course.
Many influencers, life coaches and other online personalities in Bulgaria and elsewhere offer private sessions or courses.
What makes Gyutsova’s content stand out from the rest is that its sole purpose is to explain to men that they need to learn to control their partners both psychologically and, “if necessary,” physically.
In Gyutsova’s view, men in general have been treated badly by women, and women are the ones who exert violence on men, namely by not paying them enough respect.
“The idea of equality is like a worm in people’s brains that insists men and women should be partners […] which is so contrary to human nature that it can never work,” Gyutsova declared in a long video about her work that was broadcast on Bulgarian National Television.
Although the broadcaster, which is partly financed by taxpayer’s money, has since removed the video from its platforms, it has never publicly commented on the case.
Huge backlash
Gyutsova’s profiles on social media have been gaining traction for several years now.
Screenshots and videos from her private Telegram group chat recently surfaced on social media, triggering a huge backlash in Bulgaria.
Petya Krasteva was absolutely appalled by Gyutsova’s online content.
“On her social media channels, she not only encourages people to degrade women and use violence against them, she also boasts that she uses the same methods on her child and her cat,” she told DW. “I thought to myself: This is not only absolutely unacceptable, it’s criminal.”
Gender discrimination not a crime in Bulgaria
The young woman was so outraged that she filed a complaint against Gyutsova with the prosecutor’s office.
Many other women did the same, only to find out a couple of weeks later that their efforts had been in vain.
In an official reply, the prosecutor’s office stated that nothing could be done because Bulgaria’s criminal code does not define gender discrimination as a crime and that the issue was a matter for the Commission against Discrimination.
Krasteva promptly lodged a complaint with this commission, but received another negative answer based on the same reasoning.
Profiles briefly taken down
Although these complaints did not lead to charges being brought against Gyutsova, the backlash did have an impact.
The outcry and the fact that Gyutsova’s social media accounts were reported by people who found their content abhorrent, meant that the influencer’s TikTok and Instagram profiles were deactivated.
They were, however, reactivated a short time later.
Impunity for abusers
Petya Krasteva feels that part of the reason why content like Gyutsova’s strikes a chord in Bulgaria is that while patriarchal norms and domestic violence are not accepted in the country, Bulgarian society often turns a blind eye to them.
“The other huge problem,” she says, “is that as with many other social issues, there is a complete lack of consequences for the perpetrators.”
Valentina Dimitrova, a psychologist who works for the Emprove Foundation, a Bulgarian organization that supports women who have suffered domestic violence, holds a similar view.
“Sadly it’s embedded in the Bulgarian mindset that we often just accept that things are bad and we do nothing about it,” says Dimitrova.
She believes that this is also why many women stay in violent relationships: They simply have no faith in the authorities because time and time again, men who beat or even kill their partners face no legal consequences.
Although some people seem to think that social media content is less problematic than actual abuse in real life, Dimitrova stresses the dangers associated with such content: “It can truly cost a human life.”
A global online problem
Misogynistic online content that paints women as lesser human beings and men as oppressed by women is not unique to Bulgaria. Such content has been growing and spreading all over the world in recent years.
Influencers like Andrew Tate, who faces charges of rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and more, have created a whole movement around this sort of content.
Zornitsa Gyutsova fits neatly into this category of influencer, but what makes her different is that she is a woman.
What role does feminism play?
Valentina Dimitrova thinks one issue here is that feminism is often misunderstood.
“Feminism does not entail men being suppressed and women controlling them. It means that women can have equal rights and can function as equals to men not only in society but also in their personal relationships,” she says.
Dimitrova also believes that the patriarchal notion that men should not be allowed to express emotions is highly problematic. This is reflected in Gyutsova’s content, which suggests that men are weak and not “manly” if they dare to express their fears, emotions or feelings.
It’s a vicious circle: “Men who are not allowed to express any sort of emotion for fear of being labeled weak don’t know what to do when they experience something frustrating in their relationships and so, they resort to aggression,” says Dimitrova.
What can be done?
Valentina Dimitrova suggests that first and foremost, men should receive support and their concerns should not just be swept under the carpet.
She stresses, however, that this support should not validate the inclination to deal with problems by exerting psychological or physical violence on women.
Although the Emprove Foundation focuses primarily on women’s rights and issues, it does have a project that focuses on men’s mental health — something the foundation says is incredibly important in the fight against gender-based violence.
“Men should be encouraged to connect to a healthy understanding of themselves, so they can build healthy relationships as well,” says Dimitrova.
Petya Krasteva firmly believes that even though authorities in Bulgaria rarely provide the support needed in cases like this, society should not remain indifferent.
“We should be as loud as possible when something like this turns up,” she says. “We should be perfectly clear that it is unacceptable. That way, other people who come across this content will know that this is not something that society approves of, and that could help them realize that they shouldn’t have anything to do with it.”
Dimitrova agrees. “We will keep talking about it [this kind of content], calling it out and not tolerating it until the authorities wake up.”
Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan
