Auckland Feminists Oppose Peterson Event

Auckland Feminist Action (AFA) is calling on Auckland Council for the immediate cancellation of Jordan Peterson's “12 More Rules for Life” event at Spark Arena on the 19th November 2022.

Peterson is a well known figure in the "Manosphere", a group of alt-right communities centred around violent misogyny, transphobia, and white supremacy.

This is especially concerning in light of the rise of extremism and disinformation happening in Aotearoa in recent times.

"By giving Peterson a platform on this scale, the Council is complicit in the radicalisation of young men in Aotearoa." says Dave (they/them pronouns), a member of AFA.

“He appeals to vulnerable guys who are still working out what it means to be a man. Some of his fans just like his books on a superficial level but the stuff his hardcore fans say is honestly quite concerning to me as a transgender person.”

The Auckland Council has a good precedence for this. In 2019 the High Court declared that Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) had the right to refuse alt right personality Lauren Southern a platform due to her promotion of hate speech. (MONCRIEF-SPITTLE v REGIONAL FACILITIES AUCKLAND LIMITED [2019] NZHC 2828 [1 November 2019])

Auckland Feminist Action is particularly concerned about the platforming of someone with misogynist and transphobic views, especially in light of worldwide heightened attacks on womens’ and marginalised genders’ self-determination.

“We believe that there should be no room for these hateful views in Aotearoa.” says Dave.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/style/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manosphere

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/07/how-dangerous-is-jordan-b-peterson-the-rightwing-professor-who-hit-a-hornets-nest

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130329731/a-smorgasbord-of-extremism-thats-caused-the-sis-to-pivot-its-counterterrorism-focus

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/09/high-court-backs-decision-to-block-lauren-southern-stefan-molyneux.html

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