(Peterson claimed he would not be forced to use words that, in his view, were invented by activists he wasn't attempting to misgender any specific trans people.) In subsequent years, he became a passionate opponent of identity politics, speech policing, and cancel culture, and is revered by many young, right-of-center males.Ĭritics contend that he gave voice to the concerns of the far-right, and helped embolden racial bigotry and anti-trans animus. Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, is indeed controversial among progressives: He first came to the public's attention in 2016 when he criticized a Canadian human rights law that he said would violate academic freedom by requiring him to use trans people's preferred pronouns.
"He is an icon of hate speech and transphobia and the fact that he's an icon of white supremacy, regardless of the content of his book, I'm not proud to work for a company that publishes him," a young LGBTQ employee told Vice News. Another employee said people were crying in meetings because of the negative way "Peterson has affected their lives." Several submitted complaints-outraged that the company would give yet another platform to a person whose views they find toxic. In response, several employees of the publishing giant broke down crying-and no, these weren't happy tears due to the prospect of selling so many books. On Monday, Penguin Random House announced it would publish a sequel to 12 Rules for Life, the bestselling self-help book by Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.