- A Twitter user who gives dating advice shared a video of himself interacting with a woman at a bar.
- He analyzed her body language to draw conclusions about how to flirt with women in social settings.
A TikTok creator has deleted a video where he assessed a woman's body language to offer flirting advice after it sparked a wave of controversy.
Chase Austin has 19,000 followers on TikTok and typically posts videos talking about his personal observations about how men can be more confident or successful. His bio on TikTok describes his areas of interest as "dating" and "seduction." On his Twitter account, where he has 35,000 followers, he says that he offers 1-1 video call coaching sessions on dating and interacting with women, although he does not state whether he has any credentials that would make him a certified dating coach.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Austin shared a clip, which was seen by Insider, where he could be seen interacting with a woman at a bar. She was facing him, while he was orientating his body away from her, towards the countertop.
"What are her eyes and body language conveying?" a caption on the tweet read, going on to say, "The smallest things will convey to her who is the buyer & who is the seller."
A number of users interpreted Austin's comments as suggesting that the woman was interested in him, and in a subsequent reply to another user's tweet, the creator said he deliberately faced away from her to "tease" her and make her "anxious" as a way of seeming more attractive to her.
This type of emotional manipulation has long been touted by pick-up artists, most famously in the form of "negging," which involves giving people (usually women) backhanded compliments, with the goal of making them insecure and therefore — according to proponents of these theories — more likely to agree to date the person making the comment.
—TeN (@TeN_Orochi) June 5, 2023
At the time, the tweet led to some mockery, as people suggested Austin's body language actually made him look nervous. Some people also commented that they felt that he was overanalyzing the situation and that the act of filming the woman to make assumptions about her behavior was disrespectful.
Austin's video began to gain even more traction when two separate Twitter users came forward claiming that they were the woman in the video and that they were filmed without their consent.
@travelwlexi Crazy people out there!! #twitter #boy #drama #crazy ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
One of the users, named Lexi, shared a photo of herself in a bar wearing a similar outfit to what the woman was wearing in the video as "proof" of her identity.
This led many users to believe that she was the legitimate subject of the video. She went on to make another TikTok, saying, "Didn't know I was being recorded but am really happy that you were able to capture this moment so people know how to not treat or talk about women."
In a statement given to Insider, Lexi said that she believes the other user who claimed to be the woman in the video made their post as a "joke," as did a number of other users on Twitter, who said they assumed the user's tweet was satirical. The user did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Lexi's responses created even more intense backlash against Austin, who tweeted that he had deleted his original video on June 6.
—CHASE AUSTIN (@imchaseaustin) June 6, 2023
"She was a sweet girl & was put on the spot to defend her reputation when video went viral. Doesn't deserve to be everywhere on the internet even though it is too late now. Y'all can roast me for deleting but do not go give her shit," he wrote.
In a statement given to Insider, Lexi said she felt Austin "was trying to come off like he was protecting" her by deleting the video, but she added that she was skeptical about his true intentions.
A number of Twitter users have since called on Austin to not post a video of a woman without her consent again. Up until this most recent controversy, most of his videos appeared to only feature himself.
On social media, videos of men attempting to flirt with women in public settings are hugely popular, as are clips offering advice on dating and attracting women from self-development coaches or pick-up artists with large followings.
Over the past years, there have been increasing concerns about pick-up culture thriving online, as some people have considered the practice to be rife with mysogyny due to the increasing traction of the "Anti-Me Too Movement." Some people have accused this genre of videos of making assumptions about what women find attractive, while others say it commodifies and demeans women.
Chase Austin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.