Masculinity as it is constructed in this culture is worrying - it causes unbelievable harm, not just to women and society at large, but also to men -something that you even spoke to by referencing those who kill, rape, and cause harm. Peterson wants to double down and bring more of that back into mainstream culture as if it were a solution and not the problem.
"Young men’s mental health is in a worrisome state. Their bravado masks deep insecurities, depression, and frequent thoughts of suicide. Men in the Man Box in the US and UK are statistically significantly more likely to meet a screening standard for depression than men outside the Man Box. Furthermore, all young men’s rates of suicidal ideation are troubling, with particularly high rates among men in the Man Box."
(FYI - the Man Box is a term used to describe the norms and rules of how masculinity is constructed in this culture (and many others)
Peterson invoking two civil competitors at the end of a tennis match almost made me snort coffee out of my nose because that is not how he acts at all. When he got thrown off Twitter for very clearly breaking their rules, did he accept that as the consequence of his actions on a platform that has every right to make whatever rules it wishes? (something he supports in the abstract - just not when it applies to him). No, he went apeshit and complained loudly on any place that would have him about how he was being censored.
There's nothing wrong with competition but patriarchy is not fair competition. It's hundreds (or thousands) of years of laws and rules that made it so that only white men could compete - and then pretending that they're in charge because they earned it. 🙄 Those laws only went away 50 or 60 years ago which means they beliefs they enshrined are still alive and well for many.
To be masculine is not the issue, but masculinity as it is constructed in this culture is a huge and very destructive issue. It's the difference between fruit and rotten fruit. Fruit is great - we love fruit - but not rotten fruit. Andrew Tate is a manifestation of the far end of that continuum. There are plenty of places out there offering men a different, healthier, more positive view of masculinity (The Good Men Project, for one) but that takes work, and self-inventory, and breaking from the pack - so it's just a lot easier to follow guys like Peterson, who despite telling you to be self-responsible, also tell you that everything is essentially the fault of feminists, and Neo-Marxists (whatever that even means) and vegans, etc., etc, which is not in the least bit actually self-responsible.
Clearly there are differences between Tate and Peterson, but there are also a lot of similarities as well. They both want to reinforce, glorify, and defend the worst, most destructive parts of what reads as masculinity in this culture (in slightly different ways) but only slightly.
