U of T psychology professor Jordan Peterson has released a nearly two hour-long discussion with Camille Paglia, a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. In the video, Peterson says that men can’t control “crazy women” because men are not allowed to physically fight them.
The interview was uploaded to his YouTube channel on October 2 and was reported on five days later by Canadian news outlet Press Progress.
Approximately 30 minutes into the video, Peterson and Paglia begin discussing societal gender roles. After the 37-minute mark of the video, Peterson claims that there is an “underlying threat of physicality” in “real conversations” between men which “keeps the things civilized to some degree.”
“Here’s the problem, I know how to stand up to a man who’s unfairly trespassed against me and the reason I know that is because the parameters for my resistance are quite well-defined, which is: we talk, we argue, we push, and then it becomes physical. If we move beyond the boundaries of civil discourse, we know what the next step is,” he claims. “That’s forbidden in discourse with women and so I don’t think that men can control crazy women. I really don’t believe it.”
Regarding the necessity of the “underlying threat of physicality,” Peterson says, “If you’re talking to a man who wouldn’t fight with you under any circumstances whatsoever, then you’re talking to someone to whom you have absolutely no respect.”
Peterson also offers an example in which he claims that a female activist organized a movement against him and compared him to Nazis. “I’m defenceless against that kind of female insanity because the techniques that I would use against a man who was employing those tactics are forbidden to me,” he says.
Peterson concludes that “sane women” should “stand up against their crazy sisters.”
The U of T psychology professor made headlines last fall after releasing a video criticizing gender-neutral pronouns and Bill C-16, a federal bill that protects against discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Peterson is currently on sabbatical and not teaching classes at U of T.
The Varsity has reached out to U of T media relations and Peterson for comment.