And one last point Paul Ullrich: “Those are valid points, but I do think that forbidding the usage of specific words is different from actively asking to use specific words.”

Sexually or racially demeaning language is forbidden under the CRA because it creates a hostile work place. Refusing to acknowledge someone’s preferred gender identify also creates a hostile environment. And as Peterson himself understands, intent is important and does count. He once said that he might consider using a trans person’s preferred pronoun if they showed no hint of political motivation in desiring it — in other words, he thought he had the right to know what their intent was (in wanting to be addressed in a respectful way as a human being) 😏

In fact, if I had a position of power over you (or even if I didn’t) in an institutional setting and insisted on calling you Paulina just because I wanted to piss you off and demean you, I’m going to bet that you’d have a good harassment case under Title IX. If we were just friends or acquaintances, it would no doubt fall under free speech rules.