A Māori TikToker has joined a powerful conversation around respecting women in Aotearoa.
D'Angelo Martin (@tuturu.maori) has gone viral for sharing a skit showing exactly how to act when you see someone being disrespected.
In the vid, he gears up to "sort out" a mate after hearing a dodgy comment made towards a woman walking past. His message is all about taking action in the moment, when it counts.
"Sometimes you don’t need a full haka – just the guts to say 'That’s not okay'," he captioned the video. "Respecting wāhine isn’t hard. Back your mates. Call it out."
It’s part of TikTok’s ‘Respect is the GOAT’ initiative – aimed at tackling the very real problem of disrespect towards women, from sexist jokes and talking over women to pressuring them for dates and reinforcing outdated stereotypes.
Creators like D'Angelo are showing young men how they can call out bad behaviour and support women.
Chatting with us about why he's backing the cause, D'Angelo shared: “My experience is not relative to just myself - I'm sure a lot of people, especially young men, can relate.”
“Whether it's following the crowd, reacting, or conforming to the social norms of your circle, you feel and see forms of disrespect towards women, and you say nothing because you're afraid of what your friend group might think when you speak up.”
I've always followed my gut feeling, and I'm lucky to have been brought up with a standard of morals and ideologies that disrespect towards women is not okay, FULL STOP.
He said it’s not just about the big moments either – it’s the subtle stuff too.
D'Angelo spoke about seeing his own partner being treated differently in professional settings, and how frustrating - but eye-opening - those experiences have been.
“Maybe it's because she’s of a different nationality? Maybe it's because they undermine the opinion or voice of a female? E aua (idk). These moments have made me frustrated, but also made me more aware of the importance of respect, not just towards women but towards everyone.”
He reckons the real issues run deeper.
“For rangatahi these days, the problem is far deeper than the surface, and their behaviour or lack of respect could be a multifaceted issue,” D’Angelo said.
“From not having proper role models to look up to, or not having the safest environment at home. Often rangatahi want to be heard, but the reality is - sometimes even the parents have a lack of differentiating what is right and what is wrong.”
“So the views and habits of the parents are often passed down, and this could cause rangatahi to suppress their gut feeling,” he added.
Having strong role models for rangatahi is super important, not just for this topic alone, but for all areas of life.
He believes this kōrero (conversation) being brought to TikTok is a real game-changer.
“For rangatahi to see someone they follow or admire bringing these topics to life – it could resonate with them and give them a chance to think about their perspective and their actions on issues.”
Calling out disrespect doesn’t have to be a big confrontation. There are heaps of simple, effective ways to show it’s not okay.
You can use body language like an eye roll or a head shake, avoid laughing at sexist jokes, or just leave the conversation altogether.
Ask questions like “What do you mean by that?” or “I don’t get why that was funny” to call it out.
And check in with anyone affected, acknowledge what happened, support your mates who speak up, and always back the wāhine in your life.
Respect really is the GOAT – and there’s plenty more tips over on TikTok under #RespectGOAT if you’re keen to get behind it too.
