Chaos Theory
Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology makes the claim that order is masculine and chaos is feminine. I invite him to look at my husband’s workbench.
Or desk. Or office. Or file cabinets.
Then, I invite him to look at my closet: organized by clothing type, sleeve length and color. Or look into my spice cabinet (alphabetical). Or how I can get a square peg in a round hole (“You should be an engineer,” quipped my male engineer friend).
Maybe that will tell you why Gary texted me recently, frantically looking for his birth certificate (which, BTW, I was able to direct him to, 1-2-3) and why, after 30+ years of dishes consistently being in exactly the same spots, he still has to ask, “Where does this go?”
So, really, does Jordan have any idea what he’s talking about?
Because I’m tired of being told what we are and what we’re not. Like, being told we’re “too emotional,” as I watch the recent SCOTUS nominee cry and yell and get very snarky during his confirmation hearing. Or that we can’t take the heat, as Hillary sat through 12 hours of questioning with real aplomb.
So, I ask: really, Jordan? Women = chaos? You mean the people who develop menus daily, create and manage schedules (kids), choose and manage vendors (doctors, plumbers), manage and replenish inventory (groceries) while often also working full-time jobs? And have to answer those “Where are my. . .?” questions from their significant other?
Yeah. Don’t bother pointing out that some men do the laundry and some men actually put things away.
Let’s get real.
Good heavens. I have never seen so many shoes. Do you have clothes to match each one of them?
Well, yes. Of course.
BTW these are my winter shoes. Summer shoes have been put away for the season.
Ok so I could send you similar pictures from my house. My husbands garage, desk, side of the vanity, closet, etc always looks an absolute mess. Can never find anything. He is always asking me where things are. “Do you think I have a tracking device in my uterus?” I ask him. That is an old line from the Roseanne show that I never forgot because it comes in handy a lot. I have gotten to the point where I keep my husbands passwords in my phone because he can never remember them or find them when need be. I feel ya sista!
Many years ago, when we moved into a new house in New Jersey, it had a large pantry. Never having had a pantry before and a nine month baby, I didn’t know what to do with that pantry. Lucille to the rescue. I would have never been able to accomplish what she did that day. I truly believe men’s brain’s and women’s brains are wired very differently. Jordan must be looking at life through rose colored glasses or muddied ones – not sure which. Women can multi-task. Women can work, raise kids, and maintain a household all at the same time. I think it would be interesting to see the women in Jordan’s life…
Awww!
I don’t know why you give these kinds of “analyses” any weight. Much of order is based on who believes they have the power. Multi-taskers can still be slobs! BTW, this male does the laundry and puts stuff away!
That’s a mischaracterization of Jordan’s interpretation of mythology. According to Jordan, chaos is feminine because it’s the thing from which order rises.
It’s a pretty far leap from “chaos is feminine” to “all women are chaotic”.
He goes further. There’s also a tyrant archetype, which is masculine. Tyrants represent order, etc. etc.
It’s easy to twist Jordan’s lectures into strawman arguments to make him seem like a misogynist or whatever, but if you actually consider this material in context, it can be pretty interesting.
This is the same guy who is a figurehead for the movement to block or curtail transgender rights and believes that violent men can be cured by the love of a good woman through enforced monogamy. . .
I would urge you to actually find Jordan Peterson saying those things. He has quite a bit of material out there, and he makes appearances on a lot of podcasts as well. I’ve spent hours listening to him on Joe Rogan or Sam Harris podcasts, and I’ve never heard him espouse an extreme position like that.
Jordan originally rose to publicity when he opposed a law in Canada that would criminalize someone not addressing someone else by their preferred gender pronoun. And the list of pronouns was something like 40 at the time — probably more now.
By his own words, he completely supports gender equality. He just thinks criminal punishment for not using (often ridiculous) gender pronouns is taking things too far. It’s a completely reasonable position that I happen to agree with. Anyone that supports free speech would.
Want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html
Hey, chill. This idiot was just an excuse for me to vent.
Actually, “Reggie,” I would urge you to do a bit more research. Start here: https://life.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/jordan-peterson-and-the-transgender-wars/ and here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/may/23/jordan-peterson-public-intellectual-isnt-clever-violent-men-monogamy
And stop trying to mansplain on my blog!
I t both ways across both sexes. The application of order depends on the individual’s regard to what things are important enough to be neat about. The less important things are treated with less regard for orderliness. Sex is less of an indicator than political persuasion though. In general, conservative Republicans tend to be orderly, neat and masters of detail and decorum. Liberal Democrats are generally untidy, chaotic, unfocussed and flighty. That’s not true of course 100% of the time, but you can still take it to the bank! I’m confident that most readers of this blog will tend to agree, however reluctantly.
Of course, you must be suggesting hair that looks like a bird’s nest and ties long enough to be used as a G-string as well indicate Republican values. Agreed!
I’m convinced that the first words uttered by all baby boys are, “Where is…?”
there is no connection between gender & chaos, except in the mind of the finger pointer…