Jordan Peterson and His Crusade to Reclaim Masculinity
By Andres Kogan Valderrama
HAVANA TIMES – If someone were to ask me about the most admired, idolized, and guru-like figure for those in today’s far-right waging the so-called cultural battle against “wokeness,” it would undoubtedly be the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.
Reviewing his writings, interviews, and clips of his classes available online, Peterson emerges as the perfect figure for those critical of political correctness and any discourse challenging racism, sexism, classism, or other forms of discrimination and inequality.
For this reason, Peterson has become one of the primary spokespeople of a far-right movement claiming that feminist, LGBTQ+, environmentalist, anti-racist, and social justice movements aim to dismantle the very foundations of individual freedom and Western civilization.
These are the so-called identity politics that Peterson seeks to challenge at every turn, as if he were fighting against the forces of evil—a kind of divine emissary tasked with combating various groups and aiding men who feel disoriented and powerless in the face of a crisis of masculinity.
This resonates with many men today, who, confronted with the rise of the feminist movement, find themselves unsure of how to respond to the revealing of a heteropatriarchal system with historical gender roles and stereotypes that reveal inequalities between men and women in every sphere.
It is precisely among such men that Peterson finds admiration and idolization, as he explicitly defends traditional masculinity. According to him, “naturally masculine” traits like responsibility, self-discipline, and individual courage have been lost and must be recovered for the good of society.
As a result, Peterson acts as a kind of guru for those men who feel angered and threatened by feminism, offering life rules and self-help advice to those seeking to reclaim their masculinity and move forward alone—abandoning weakness and kindness.
It is no coincidence that Peterson has also become a reference point on masculinity for various coaches and seduction experts targeting men. These individuals often use rhetoric and techniques that reinforce violence against women and increase sexual pressures on men.
This may all seem crude, but Peterson genuinely believes in a linear, individualistic, and biologically deterministic idea of human evolution—one that ignores the power structures, such as patriarchy, that have dominated certain groups since the advent of major civilizations.
For Peterson, none of that exists. He focuses exclusively on the individual, promoting a binary view of gender that denies the world’s diversity, justifies social hierarchies, and encourages men to rise and become alpha males, ostensibly to restore a supposed natural order of the human species, reduced to reproduction and survival.
However, Peterson’s insistence on reclaiming masculinity not only harms women but also inflicts damage on men, who are forced to conform to rigid molds that generate more violence toward others and themselves. This is evident in the disproportionate rates of homicides, accidents, assaults, and suicides, overwhelmingly committed or experienced by men.
In other words, it is precisely the version of masculinity Peterson seeks to restore that has brought us to the brink of nuclear war and unprecedented climate collapse, driven by powerful states, mega-corporations, and arrogant leaders who believe themselves above the planet’s limits and the basic conditions for life on Earth.
What we need is not more alpha males in the world but greater visibility of alternative masculinities and the promotion of men engaging in care and cooperation to build more sustainable futures.
The pandemic demonstrated how vulnerable and interdependent we are, but it seems to have been a missed opportunity to rethink our way of living. Instead, it has fostered more fear and new monsters.