Vicious ‘game’: true extent of men’s ‘pick-up’ tactics revealed
The truth about how hundreds of men across Scotland are using social media to pool ideas and share tactics on how to target and exploit women
HUNDREDS of men are using the same techniques as a controversial pick-up artist who hit the headlines this week after preying on women in Glasgow.
The tactics, described by critics as “predatory” and “enabling rape culture”, came to light this week, and a man has been arrested and charged by police.
It has now emerged that the sinister practice is gaining in popularity with books sold to promote the culture, including advice on how to have sex with multiple women in one day.
Videos posted on YouTube showed women being covertly filmed in Glasgow city centre, while a man tried to talk to them and chat them up.
The videos were given derogatory headlines including “how to f*** girls in alleyways and public toilets” and “Why re-approaching girls can get you laid”, posted on a channel named “DWLF Game”. In one clip, a man asks a woman if she is planning to get drunk that evening before urging her to meet him in one of the city’s nightclubs.
An investigation by The Herald on Sunday has found that hundreds of men are using “gaming” – similar techniques to those described in the controversial videos – in an attempt to attract women all over Scotland.
Many are using social media, secret messaging apps and public forums to recruit other men to help them as “wing men” in their so-called “conquests” and share their exploits, dubbed field reports, with other eager participants.
On one forum, a Glasgow resident tells
They post tips and tricks on how to have sex with multiple women in a day
others to “stay away from the West End and get yourself to one of the clubs”.
He adds: “You’ll be almost guaranteed to get a one night lay with a ‘ned’. If you’re after an indie or hipster girl, you might have to put a bit more work in but your chances here are still pretty high.”
Others say they are coming to Scotland for a holiday and thank the man for his “comprehensive” guidance and advice.
Facebook groups covering Glasgow and Edinburgh have more than 500 members between them, and regularly post tips and tricks about how to have sex with multiple women in one day, have threesomes or get women “to beg you to sleep with them”. The DWLF channel has more than 4,000 subscribers with some of the videos being viewed more than 13,000 times.
SNP councillor Rhiannon Spear, who represents Glasgow’s Greater Pollok
area, said those involved in the “gaming” movement are “monetising rape culture” and the issue is wider than one individual posting videos online.
She said: “The game isn’t an isolated situation in Glasgow. It is a global network where men act in predatory ways and share how to ‘ game’ young women and girls.
“This is a network of people who are monetising rape culture by charging vulnerable young men for lessons on how to game and get women.
“This is intrinsically linked with toxic masculinity and men trying to find a way to deal with the societal pressure we put on them to perform in masculine ways.”
Spear said she believes the solution is educating people from a young age about consent and added: “The behaviour displayed and taught in these videos is nothing new to most women. We have to be teaching young people the language of consent, about body autonomy and about realistic expectations on relationships and sex.”
Posing as lifestyle coaches or dating gurus, men are using gaming techniques not just to try to attract members of the opposite sex but also to earn money and boost their own profiles online.
Well- known platforms such as Amazon and Audible are selling books promoting the culture, with titles including Pimpology: The 48 Laws Of The Game and How To Have Sex With 2 Women A Day for less than £6.
Seminars and workshops also take place across the country, where men pay as much as £350 to attend classes with so-called experts to learn how to master their pick-up skills.
Others create online tutorials and “VIP membership packages” claiming to reveal the secrets of attracting women, available to those who pay a monthly or one-time fee.
The DWLF videos are just the latest example of self-proclaimed pick-up artists promoting themselves in Scotland’s biggest cities.
In 2016, protesters took to the streets against Daryush Valizadeh, also known as Roosh V, who was planning internat ional meet- ups i n Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The 39- year- old American blogger wrote that he believed rape should be made legal if it took place on private property, but later claimed he thought the article was a thought experiment.
He described Glasgow as a “convict resettlement zone” after 50,000 people signed a petition to the Scottish Government calling for his events to be banned.
Yesterday afternoon dozens of women took to Glasgow city centre to show their resistance against those involved in the DWLF pick-up videos, and anyone else thinking of imitating them.
Mandy Jones, who organised the rally on Buchanan Street, said she wanted to help women “show a united front”.
She said the creator of the controversial DWLF videos was “an enabler of rape culture, and he harasses, manipulates and coerces women”.
She added: “It was important to present a variety of voices today to tell him and exactly why this behaviour will not be tolerated.”
Police Scotland confirmed a 37-yearold man had been arrested and charged in connection with videos posted online, and he is due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court tomorrow.