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The GDPR is going to force a lot of organisations to change the way they recruit. The days of having a database of candidates that you’ve sourced and holding them indefinitely are certain to be over. Working with an ATS vendor that knows their stuff and wants to help is going to give you a heard start in compliance as May approaches…Workable recognises it’s role as a data processor and rather than just saying “our current features are enough” we’re making it easy to be compliant.1) As a ‘data processor’, what steps is Workable taking towards GDPR compliance?Workable’s data processing activities are governed by a contract that complies with EU law. We are already compliant with existing data protection laws, and many of these remain the same under GDPR. Our current and ongoing commitment to GDPR is to:process personal data only on documented instructions from the controllerimplement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including:– the encryption of personal data;– the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services;– the ability to restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident;– a process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organisational measures for ensuring the security of the processing.at the choice of the controller, delete or return all the personal data to the controller after the end of the provision of services relating to processing, and delete existing copies unless Union or Member State law requires us to retain of the personal datamake available to the controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligationsMoving forward, to comply with the principle of ‘Privacy by Design’ we will undertake a Data Processing Impact Assessment (DPIA) for any new features. This will ensure that we remain compliant as a data processor.The application process2) How can my organisation use Workable for a GDPR compliant application process?As a ‘data controller’ your organisation will need to take responsibility for their own compliance. Review the data that your organisation requires to make a screening decision prior to interview. In line with the principle of ‘data minimisation’, ensure that as a company you are requesting only what is ‘adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary’, and that you have a full understanding of exactly why that data is required.Workable offers customisable application forms, which request only the essential information required for recruiting purposes. This can be used as a starting point.Create a custom application form using WorkableDecide how long you need to keep candidate data on file. Document these decisions and communicate them to your hiring teams.When these decisions have been made, we suggest including a short paragraph at the end of every job description created via Workable. This should be written in clear language, and:Provide the name and contact details of your organisationBe clear that any data requested will be used for recruitment purposes only (should you intend to use candidate data for other purposes, you will need to inform the candidates of the details).Provide a link to your privacy notice for recruitment, outlining the requirements set out in GDPR Article 13.Ideally, your linked privacy notice will be related to recruitment only, instead of a more general company privacy policy. This will further increase transparency, enabling the candidate to quickly see relevant information which could be missed in a longer, more general policy.3) Do we need to ask for explicit consent from applicants?You are considered to be complying with GDPR if your organisation is hiring and you are collecting data ‘for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes’. This means that as long as your organisation has been transparent, and has informed the candidate of the intended use of the information they are supplying, you do not need to request explicit consent to process their data.The only caveat to this is if you are requesting sensitive information, for example, information about a disability, cultural, genetic or biometric information, information gathered for the EEO survey or a background check. In most cases you must request and record explicit consent to process this information. If a criminal background check is required by law (eg, for working at a nuclear power facility), no consent is required.If a candidate contacts you at any stage to delete their data from your files you should carefully verify whether you must comply. You must also inform candidates if you wish to use their data for anything other than the initial purpose outlined.4) How do we handle applications that don’t come into Workable via the application form?Workable has the option to enable speculative applicationsIf a candidate is referred, sends in a speculative resume, hands you a resume at a careers fair or applies via any route in which they haven’t had access to the details of how you will process their data, then you must inform them.We suggest creating an email template which confirms receipt of their application, outlines how you will use the data and links to your privacy notice for recruitment.Candidate sourcing5) Is it still legal to source candidates and store their information?‘Passive candidates’ are people who are being considered for a position but have not actively applied. Sourcing passive candidates (or ‘head-hunting’) is critical to many organisations, whether it’s for hard-to-fill roles, or more senior positions.After adding passive candidates to the pipeline for a job, or to your Talent Pool, GDPR regulations state that you must email these candidates ‘within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month’ to notify them that you are processing their information, and to provide them with details of the processing. Article 14 of GDPR explains in detail the information that your organisation should provide to these individuals.We suggest that after creating and documenting your process for data protection within your organisation, you use Workable to create an email template that can be used to contact passive candidates with a consistent approach.This should:Provide the name and contact details of your organisationExplain where you sourced their dataProvide a link to your privacy notice for recruitment, outlining the requirements set out in GDPR Article 14Ideally, your privacy notice will be related to recruitment only, instead of a more general company privacy policy. This will further increase transparency, enabling the candidate to quickly see relevant information which could be missed in a longer, more general policy.The privacy notice should include details of:How long your organisation intends to store the candidate data. If it’s not possible to provide an exact length of time, then explain the criteria used to determine that periodHow candidates can withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal dataHow candidates can request corrections or access to their data, or ask for it to be deleted from your systemWho candidates should contact should they want to lodge a complaint regarding the processing of their personal dataIf you are an external recruiter or agency you should take legal advice to ensure that your processing is compliant with GDPR, and whether there are any other steps that you need to take to ensure that you have the right to pass candidate details to your clients.If a candidate requests it, their information should be deleted from your system.6) Can I use People Search and still remain compliant with GDPR?As a ‘data controller’ you must take steps to ensure that your organisation is using People Search in line with the GDPR. After adding candidates to your hiring pipeline, contact candidates ‘within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month.’ Follow the steps outlined question 5 above.7) Do we need to ask for consent to use data sourced via People Search?As with any other passive candidate sourcing tool, GDPR regulations state that you must email candidates ‘within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month’ to notify candidates that they are under consideration for current or future positions. Article 14 of GDPR explains in detail the information that your organisation should provide to any passive candidates, whether they are sourced via People Search or by other means. See question 5 above for further details.Accessing social media profiles8) As a ‘data controller’ are we legally allowed to view and store the social media profiles that People Search displays inside Workable?As a ‘data processor’ Workable searches publicly available profiles and opt-in databases for information about candidates and prospects. By clicking the links provided, Workable users (‘data controllers’) can view only the information that candidates and prospects have chosen to make available.On June 29 2017, the EU’s Article 29 Working Party (the collection of data protection authorities) released guidance on the privacy of employees and candidates. This specifies that employers may process social media profile information if there is legitimate interest. Quoting from Section 5.1:“In this context the employer should—prior to the inspection of a social media profile—take into account whether the social media profile of the applicant is related to business or private purposes, as this can be an important indication for the legal admissibility of the data inspection. In addition, employers are only allowed to collect and process personal data relating to job applicants to the extent that the collection of those data is necessary and relevant to the performance of the job which is being applied for”Therefore, any potential employer using People Search whether directly or via the automatic social media profile retrieval must be able to justify its use on the basis that this is ‘necessary and relevant’ for the job for which the candidate is being evaluated.Note that the option to turn off automatic social media retrieval on the candidate profile is available via the account settings.Data processing, storage and deletion9) Is it still legal to use spreadsheets to store candidate data?Using spreadsheets increases the risk of non-compliance with GDPR. In short, spreadsheets provide a poor audit trail, access controls and versioning. One of the key benefits of spreadsheets is also one of their key flaws, in that they can easily be duplicated and modified by anyone in your hiring team.Switching to GDPR compliant recruiting software provides:A clear understanding of who has access to candidate dataA single point of data entry and modificationA secure way to delete or correct candidate data on requestTrackable, visible candidate consentAutomated tracking of when personal information was obtained and under what conditions10) Where does Workable store candidate data?Data uploaded to Workable is stored in the USA.11) I’m based in the EU. Under the rules of GDPR, do I need to host my recruiting data in the EU?No, there is no need to host your recruiting data in the EU to remain compliant with GDPR. In addition, you should note that hosting your data within the EU does not ensure automatic compliance. Using a GDPR compliant vendor will help ensure that you comply with the GDPR.As a data processor, Workable already complies with existing data protection laws and must also comply with the GDPR by the implementation date. Data uploaded to Workable is stored in the USA. In order to transfer data safely in and out of the EU Workable has the following legal safeguards in place:Workable uses only compliant storage providersWorkable has Data Processing agreements in place, incorporating EU Model Clauses with our subcontractors, AWS and Salesforce/HerokuOur subcontractors are participating in the EU-US Privacy Shield12) The ‘right to be forgotten’ entitles candidates to request that their data be deleted. How can I do this with Workable?As the data controller, the responsibility of deleting candidate data rests with your organisation. Deleting candidate data is a simple process within Workable. This is possible on a ‘per candidate’ basis, or collectively per job.13) How long does Workable store candidate data, and is it automatically deleted?According to current legislation, data must be ‘kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed’. As the ‘data controller’, your company must decide how long you deem candidate data ‘necessary’ for your purposes. Your decision should be documented and the information shared with relevant employees involved in the hiring process. Candidate data that is no longer necessary should be deleted by an admin for your account. This is possible on a ‘per candidate’ basis, or collectively per job.14) Our organisation wants to delete candidate data as soon as a job is filled. Is that possible?Every organisation will have different requirements of their candidate data, so deleting candidate data is the responsibility of the organisation as the ‘data controller’.Deleting all candidate data gathered for a specific job as soon as a role has been filled is a fast, easy, manual process, performed by admins for your account. Edit the job, and click the arrow next to the ‘Archive’ button. This will reveal the ‘Delete’ button. Click this to delete the job, and all record of the candidates that were sourced, applied, progressed and disqualified.15) Can I still store the details of rejected candidates?Sometimes you hit the jackpot and come across more than one great applicant for a role. If you only have one open position, it makes sense to keep the other candidates on file so that you can consider them for roles in the future.To remain compliant, inform the candidate that you wish to keep their data on file when you send the rejection notice. Explain how long you will keep their details and reshare the link to your privacy notice for recruitment, so that candidates are fully aware of whom they should contact to update or delete their information in the future.16) What should I do about the existing candidates in my database or talent pool?GDPR comes into full effect across all European member states on 25 May 2018. Between now and then, review your candidate database:Candidates and prospects who are no longer relevant should be deleted.This is possible on a ‘per candidate’ basis, or collectively per job.Candidates who are viable for current or future roles should be contacted.If candidates have previously applied:Contact them to remind them that they previously applied for a role with your organisation. Explain that you are interested in keeping them on file for a current or future position. The email should address points in listed in Article 13, and link to your privacy notice for recruitment.If candidates were previously sourced:Contact them to explain that you have their details on file as they were under consideration for a previous role. Explain that you would like to keep their details on file for a current or future position. This email should reference points listed in Article 14 and link to your privacy notice for recruitment. (See question 5 above for further details).In both cases, mention ‘the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability.’Bulk email options and templates will reduce the time and effort of this process.17) How do we handle requests from candidates or prospects who wish to see the data that our organisation holds about them in Workable?Part of the expanded rights of ‘data subjects’ outlined by the GDPR is the option for your candidates or prospects to request and obtain their personal data in an electronic format.This is easy to action via Workable. The ‘Candidate Report’ is customisable, based on jobs / departments and date range. Using the filter menu at the top left, check ‘select all’ to reveal all the details held on candidates within your specific parameters.18) As data controllers, we have to let candidates and prospects know if their data has been breached. How will we know?In the unlikely event of a data breach, Workable will notify with priority all admins of affected accounts by email within 72 hours of Workable becoming aware of the breach. As the data controller it is your organisation’s responsibility to decide whether or not you should notify the applicable supervisory authority and/or the individuals in your database.There’s even more about GDPR and it’s effect on recruiting and hiring here - (I wish I’d ironed my shirt…)

In case you’ve had the extraordinary good fortune of having never heard of him, Jordan B. Peterson is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. He largely rose to fame in 2016 over his vocal opposition to an act passed by the Parliament of Canada to prohibit discrimination on the basis of “gender identity and expression.” Since then, Peterson has developed an enormous cult following as a self-help author and YouTube personality. His followers generally tend to be young, heterosexual, cisgender men who come from middle-class backgrounds and have conservative political leanings.Peterson calls himself a “classical British liberal” and a “traditionalist”—both terms that are commonly used as euphemistic self-descriptors by members of the far right. As we shall see shortly, he has publicly promoted various misogynistic, transphobic, and white supremacist claims. Much of what Peterson has written and said has already been thoroughly analyzed and debunked. In this article, however, I want to especially focus on an aspect of Peterson’s work and activism that I don’t think has been adequately addressed: his interpretation of mythology.Peterson has made the psychoanalytic interpretation of myths into a major backbone of his work. Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, which was first published in 1999, talks about mythology extensively, and he routinely uses mythical examples in his lecture videos and in his 2018 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. This is all in spite of the fact that he clearly does not understand mythology and much of what he says on the subject is incorrect.Jordan Peterson’s sources for mythological interpretationBefore I talk about how Jordan Peterson uses mythology, I want to address the sources Peterson relies on for mythological interpretation. Peterson is, after all, a psychologist with no formal academic training in folklore studies or mythology, so it is especially important to consider where he’s getting his ideas from.Peterson relies extensively on the work of the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung (lived 1875 – 1961), the Romanian religious studies scholar Mircea Eliade (lived 1907 – 1986), and the American author Joseph Campbell (lived 1904 – 1987). All three of these authors are privileged white men with right-wing or at least conservative political leanings who lived in the early twentieth century and came up with highly speculative “universalizing” theories about the nature of mythology.Carl Jung had no formal background in the study of mythology or literature. He was, however, a student of the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (lived 1856 – 1939) and he shared his mentor’s penchant for engaging in wild speculation about the “unconscious,” unsupported by any kind of empirical evidence. Unlike Freud, who was mainly interested in the individual unconscious, Jung believed that groups of people can share a collective unconscious.There is, of course, no empirical evidence to support this notion, but Jung believed that he could discover information about the human collective unconscious by studying mythology. Jung’s work was influential on some mid-twentieth-century scholars of mythology, such as Carl Kerényi, but is generally repudiated by most present-day scholars of mythology, since, as I have mentioned, the fundamental assumptions behind it lack empirical support.ABOVE: Photograph of the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, whose work on mythology and the supposed “collective unconscious” has been a huge influence on Jordan PetersonMircea Eliade is not nearly as famous as Jung or Campbell, but his work is in a similar vein. He espoused the belief that myths reflect universal aspects of the human condition. He is most famous for his idea of the “eternal return,” which holds that, through certain ritual actions, a religious believer symbolically returns to a long-ago mythical age and is able to thereby participate in the mythic world.Although scholars in the field of religious studies still sometimes cite Eliade, many scholars have criticized his work for overgeneralizing and making unsupported claims of universality. Eliade is also controversial because he was a fascist and white supremacist who was an avowed public supporter and registered member of the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist party, in the 1930s.Although Eliade later came to regret his support for the Iron Guard, he maintained white supremacist and fascist sympathies throughout his life, which are evident throughout much of his work. For instance, Eliade was deeply influenced by the work of the self-described “superfascist” Italian writer Julius Evola (lived 1898 – 1974), whose writings have formed the basis for much of modern Neo-Nazi and neo-fascist ideology.ABOVE: Photograph of the Romanian religious studies scholar Mircea EliadeJoseph Campbell is probably the most famous of all the scholars on whose work Peterson most heavily relies. He is best known for his hypothesis that all stories that humans have told throughout history—or at least the vast majority of them—follow the fundamental template of the so-called “hero’s journey.” Despite the enduring popularity of the “hero’s journey” with high school English literature teachers and with the general public, contemporary folklorists and scholars of mythology almost universally reject this model.I published an entire article back in December 2020 explaining in depth why the “hero’s journey” is nonsense. I won’t summarize the whole thing here, but the gist of it is that the “hero’s journey” as it is articulated by Campbell is at best so vague and overgeneralized that it isn’t really useful. Moreover, it encourages people to ignore the ways in which myths are shaped by the specific cultural and historical contexts from which they originate. As we shall see in moment, these are also major problems with Peterson’s own work.ABOVE: Photograph of the American writer Joseph Campbell, whose hypothesis of the “hero’s journey” I attempt to debunk in this article from December 2020In addition to the big three of Jung, Eliade, and Campbell, Peterson also frequently cites the work of Camille Paglia, a professor at the University of Arts in Philadelphia who describes herself as a “feminist,” but spends most of her time attacking mainstream feminism, post-structuralism, and modern academia at large.Paglia is best known for her 1990 book Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickenson, which, as I discuss in fairly extensive detail in this article from November 2020, presents a lot of claims about history and mythology that are really garbage. Her interpretations of myths are generally untethered from historical context and based on Freudian pseudoscience and sexist assumptions. For instance, here is a real quote from page nine in which Paglia bizarrely claims (without any sufficient evidence) that men invented civilization as a defense against women:“Woman was an idol of belly-magic. She seemed to swell and give birth by her own law. From the beginning of time, woman has seemed an uncanny being. Man honored but feared her. She was the black maw that had spat him forth and would devour him anew. Men, bonding together, invented culture as a defense against female nature.”“Sky-cult was the most sophisticated step in this process, for its switch of the creative locus from earth to sky is a shift from belly-magic to head-magic. And from this defensive head-magic has come the spectacular glory of male civilization, which has lifted woman with it. The very language and logic modern woman uses to assail patriarchal culture were the invention of men.”In addition to talking about which authors Peterson cites, it is also important to talk about the authors he doesn’t cite. Quite noticeably, Peterson never or almost never cites the work of any professional specialist scholar of mythology or folklore who lived more recently than the 1980s. Meanwhile, other than Paglia, Peterson also rarely cites the work of women approvingly and he almost never cites the work of scholars of color.ABOVE: Photograph of Camille Paglia, a professor at the University of Arts in Philadelphia whose work Jordan Peterson cites fairly frequentlyFalse claims about universal associationsSeeing how Jordan Peterson relies so heavily on the work of early-twentieth-century writers who promoted “universalizing” theories about the nature of mythology, it is hardly surprising that he is in the frequent habit of inaccurately claiming that certain qualities are universally associated with each other in all mythologies throughout human history. For instance, most notoriously, throughout his works, Peterson explicitly equates femininity with chaos and masculinity with order. He claims that this is a universal association that is present throughout every human society throughout history.In general, Peterson has a very negative view of chaos. He acknowledges that there can be positive forms of chaos, but he invariably emphasizes what he sees as the negative side of chaos far more than what he sees as the positive side. He literally titled his second book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. When Peterson equates chaos with femininity and portrays it as something that apparently requires an “antidote,” it is really hard to escape the conclusion that he thinks femininity is generally a bad thing, or at least inferior to masculinity.ABOVE: Front cover of Jordan Peterson’s 2018 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to ChaosOn 18 May 2018, shortly after 12 Rules for Life was released, The New York Times ran a scathing profile piece about Jordan Peterson, written by the journalist Nellie Bowles, titled “Jordan Peterson, Custodian of the Patriarchy.” The piece contains some direct, glaringly misogynistic quotes from Peterson himself.In one quote, Peterson defends his association of femininity with chaos and masculinity with order by insisting that this is the natural way of things, that this identification is found in all cultures and mythologies throughout history, and that it is impossible to be human without associating femininity with chaos. He says:“You know you can say, ‘Well isn’t it unfortunate that chaos is represented by the feminine’ — well, it might be unfortunate, but it doesn’t matter because that is how it’s represented. It’s been represented like that forever. And there are reasons for it. You can’t change it. It’s not possible. This is underneath everything. If you change those basic categories, people wouldn’t be human anymore. They’d be something else. They’d be transhuman or something. We wouldn’t be able to talk to these new creatures.”What Peterson says here, however, is quite demonstrably wrong. It’s true that it is possible to find examples in world mythology of chaos being represented as feminine, but a person can just as easily find examples of chaos being represented as neuter or even masculine.The English word chaos itself is derived from the Greek third-declension noun χάος (cháos). In Ancient Greek, there are three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Every noun in the Greek language belongs to one of these three genders. Guess which gender the word χάος is? It’s neuter. This does not fit very well with Peterson’s claim about chaos supposedly being regarded as inherently feminine in all cultures throughout history.ABOVE: Screenshot of the entry for the word χάος in the Liddell—Scott—Jones (LSJ). Note the presence of the neuter article τό (tó), which is listed here next to the word specifically to indicate that it is neuter.If we look at where Chaos appears in Greek mythological texts, we find that it is not consistently (or even usually) represented as feminine. The most famous appearance of Chaos in all of Greek literature is in the poem Theogonia, which was probably composed in around the eighth century BCE or thereabouts by the poet Hesiodos of Askre. In the poem, Chaos is portrayed as the primordial entity from which the earliest divine beings emerged. Lines 116–125 of the poem read as follows:“ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα Χάος γένετ’· αὐτὰρ ἔπειταΓαῖ’ εὐρύστερνος, πάντων ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεὶἀθανάτων οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος ὈλύμπουΤάρταρά τ’ ἠερόεντα μυχῷ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης,ἠδ’ Ἔρος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι,λυσιμελής, πάντων τε θεῶν πάντων τ’ ἀνθρώπωνδάμναται ἐν στήθεσσι νόον καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν.ἐκ Χάεος δ’ Ἔρεβός τε μέλαινά τε Νὺξ ἐγένοντο·Νυκτὸς δ’ αὖτ’ Αἰθήρ τε καὶ Ἡμέρη ἐξεγένοντο,οὓς τέκε κυσαμένη Ἐρέβει φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.”This means (in my own translation):“Truly, first of all, Chaos was born; thenGaia the wide-breasted, the always unmovable seat of allthe deathless ones who possess the snow-clad peak of Olympos,and Tartaros, murky in the depths of the broad earth,and Eros, who is the loveliest among the deathless deities,the loosener of limbs, he overpowers the mind in the breast and the thoughtful counsel of all deities and all human beings.And out from Chaos Erebos and dark Night were born;and from Night Aither and Day were outborn,whom she sired, conceiving them after mixing fluids with Erebos in love.”Here Chaos is not clearly gendered as feminine or masculine. Indeed, it is unclear what Hesiodos even thought Chaos was. Did he consider Chaos a divine being who gave birth to the other primordial deities or simply a vague, amorphous void from which the earliest deities emerged? We don’t know. Hesiodos never explains what any of this means; he simply assumes that his audiences already have some idea of what Chaos is.Of course, someone might argue that, contextually, in the Theogonia, Chaos is kind of feminine because things are born from it and, in the biological world, women are usually the ones who give birth. This is, however, not an argument that Hesiodos himself makes. Therefore, when someone says that Chaos in the Theogonia is feminine, they mean that it subjectively seems feminine to them; we can’t prove that Hesiodos or his original audience would have thought of Chaos as feminine.Interestingly, the earliest author in the Greek tradition to clearly ascribe any gender to Chaos is the archaic lyric poet Alkman of Sparta, who lived in around the seventh century BCE. According to a scholion, or ancient scholarly commentary, on Aristophanes’s comedy The Birds, line 14, Alkman identified Chaos with the male god Poros, the divine personification of contrivance. In other words, according to Alkman, Chaos is masculine.If we look at other figures in Greek mythology, we find that figures associated with order are not necessarily male and the figures associated with chaos are not necessarily female. For instance, Athena is a major figure in Greek mythology who is generally associated with order, but she’s a goddess, meaning she’s female. Meanwhile, most of the figures in Greek mythology who are associated with chaotic impulses are male, including the god Dionysos, satyrs, centaurs, and Gigantes.ABOVE: Statues of the goddess Athena, who is associated with order, and the god Dionysos, who is associated with chaosOther, non-Hellenic mythologies only further refute the notion that chaos is inherently feminine and order is inherently masculine. Notably, in Egyptian mythology, order itself is personified as the goddess Maʽat, who is usually represented in Egyptian art as a beautiful young woman who often has wings on her arms and an ostrich feather on her head.Meanwhile, the main representatives of chaos in Egyptian mythology are both male: the god Set and the chaos serpent Apep (who is sometimes known by his Greek name Apophis). In other words, in Egyptian mythology, order itself is gendered as feminine and chaos is gendered as masculine. This is the exact opposite of what Jordan Peterson claims is the natural order.ABOVE: Ancient Egyptian relief carving currently on display in the Louvre Museum depicting the goddess Maʽat, the divine personification of orderJordan Peterson’s misleading use of statisticsOf course, Peterson also occasionally tries to justify his claims about universal mythological associations by citing “facts” about the human condition that supposedly underlie these associations. For instance, he writes in 12 Rules for Life, on page 41:“Chaos, the eternal feminine, is also the crushing force of sexual selection. Women are choosy maters (unlike female chimps, their closest animal counterparts). Most men do not meet female human standards. It is for this reason that women on dating sites rate 85 percent of men as below average in attractiveness. It is for this reason that we all have twice as many female ancestors as male (imagine that all the women who have ever lived have averaged one child. Now imagine that half the men who have ever lived have fathered two children, if they had any, while the other half fathered none).”“It is Woman as Nature who looks at half of all men and says, ‘No!’ For the men, that’s a direct encounter with chaos, and it occurs with devastating force every time they are turned down for a date. Human female choosiness is also why we are very different from the common ancestor we shared with our chimpanzee cousins, while the latter are very much the same.”“Women’s proclivity to say no, more than any other force, has shaped our evolution into the creative, industrious, upright, large-brained (competitive, aggressive, domineering) creatures that we are. It is Nature as Woman who says, ‘Well, bucko, you’re good enough for a friend, but my experience of you so far has not indicated the suitability of your genetic material for continued propagation.’”Peterson’s description here, however, is not even accurate for twenty-first-century North American society—let alone all human societies throughout history.For one thing, Peterson’s claim that a man being rejected by a woman is “a direct encounter with chaos” only really makes sense from the perspective of a man who sees women collectively as some kind of vague, mysterious, impersonal force of nature that denies men what they want for seemingly arbitrary and capricious reasons.In reality, women are individual human beings who have thoughts, feelings, and opinions of their own and are capable of making independent rational decisions. When a woman rejects a man, she invariably has some kind of reason for it. I don’t see how a woman deciding not to have a sexual relationship with a man can be seen as any more “chaotic” than any other decision that a human being might make.Peterson seems to be implying that it is “order” for a woman to consent to have sex with a man and “chaos” for a woman to reject a man—but the only difference between these two scenarios is that, in the first one, the man gets what he wants and, in the second scenario, he doesn’t.This reveals Peterson’s extremely androcentric conception of the world; from his perspective, what the woman wants doesn’t seem to be a relevant factor for consideration. This is an deeply twisted worldview. After all, it is only a short leap from a man believing that what the woman wants isn’t relevant to a man believing that it is morally acceptable for him to take what he wants from a woman by force.ABOVE: Tarquin and Lucretia, painted in 1571 by the Italian Renaissance painter TitianPeterson also seems to assume that men are naturally the ones who do the courting, that women are naturally the ones who do the rejecting, and that sexual rejection is therefore “a direct encounter with chaos” that men generally experience and women generally do not. I don’t think that this assumption is warranted.Nowadays, it is fairly common for women to court men (and, indeed, other women) and for women to experience rejection. When I was in middle school, no less than three girls in my class tried to ask me out in apparent earnestness—which I at the time actually found rather strange, considering that I was an unusually tiny, very nerdy, and (quite frankly) very feminine boy who did not fit any conventional standards of masculine attractiveness. I suppose they must have thought I was cute or something.In any case, I turned all three of them down. I felt really bad about it and I tried to explain that it wasn’t that I didn’t like them personally or that I didn’t think they were attractive, but rather simply that I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. I really hope I didn’t hurt their feelings too much.I’m actually almost curious what Jordan Peterson would make of a scenario like the one I have just described. Was I an agent of chaos because I said “no” to those girls—or is there some way in which their experience can be construed as fundamentally different from the “direct encounter with chaos” that Peterson claims men experience when they are rejected?ABOVE: Assorted photos of me from when I was in middle school—and apparently an agent of chaos.“85 percent of men as below average in attractiveness”Now, Peterson cites a few statistics that are clearly meant to insinuate that, most of the time, when a woman refuses to have sex with a man, it’s because she’s too “choosy” and she’s only willing to have sex with the biggest, sexiest Chads. I really don’t see how this argument, even if it were true, would support Peterson’s association of femininity with chaos, since, after all, only wanting to have sex with the biggest, sexiest Chads is an entirely rational motive for rejecting someone. It’s not exactly a nice motive, but it’s definitely a rational one.But let’s ignore that and look at the statistics Peterson cites, because these don’t hold up to scrutiny either. First, Peterson cites the statistic “women on dating sites rate 85 percent of men as below average in attractiveness” and claims this as evidence that women in general are “choosy” about who they have relationships with. This statistic comes from a real study, but there is a lot of context that Peterson doesn’t acknowledge.First of all, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, only 28% of all women in the United States have ever used a dating site or app. People who use dating apps are not a random sample by any means; they belong to a specific type. Any statistic about women who use dating sites is therefore inherently only applicable to less than a third of all women at best.Furthermore, Peterson’s statistic is an average based on aggregate data. If we looked at the ratings of the individual women who made up the sample group in the study Peterson cites, we would most likely discover a great deal of diversity—with some women having a tendency to rate men as more attractive and some women having a tendency to rate men as less attractive. The average statistic tells us very little about the thoughts and attitudes of individual women.Finally, Peterson does not give any statistics about which men the women in the study actually messaged. I suspect this is deliberate, because, if he had given this data, it would have completely destroyed his narrative that women are much “choosier” than men.In 2009, OkCupid released a report that, on average, women rated 80% of men as “below average” attractiveness. The same report, however, found that the vast majority of messages actually sent from women to men were sent to men whom women rated as less attractive, with the curve for messages sent being only slightly ahead of the curve for perceived attractiveness.This seems to suggest that, although women on dating sites tend to rate men harshly in terms of their attractiveness, they tend to focus their attention on men whom they consider somewhat less attractive whom they are presumably interested in for reasons other than raw physical attractiveness.ABOVE: Graph from the 2009 OkCupid report showing that, although women tended to rate men’s attractiveness very harshly, they were far more likely to actually message men whom they considered less attractiveThe same report contains comparable statistics for men. The report found that, although men rated women’s attractiveness on average in a neat bell curve, the overwhelming majority of all messages sent from men to women were sent to women whom men rated as most attractive. The women whom men rated as most attractive received five times as many messages as the average woman and two thirds of all messages sent from men to women went to women whom men rated in the top third of attractiveness. Women whom men rated as least attractive received almost no messages from men.In other words, it seems that, in general, men on dating sites generally tend to prioritize physical attractiveness much more highly than women. This is the exact opposite of what Peterson leads his readers to believe. By only citing one statistic out of context, Peterson has created a false narrative. In reality, men on dating sites are the “choosy” ones—not women.ABOVE: Graph from the 2009 OkCupid report showing that, although men tended to be more generous in their ratings of women, they were more likely to focus their attention on the women they considered most attractive“Twice as many female ancestors as male”Next, Peterson cites a statistic about modern humans supposedly having twice as many female ancestors as male ancestors and presents this as evidence of women’s “choosiness.” The accuracy of the statistic itself is factually rather dubious, but, even if we ignore that and we simply take it for granted that the statistic is accurate, Peterson’s conclusion that this statistic is evidence that women are too “choosy” is unwarranted.Peterson seems to be ignoring the fact that, in most cultures throughout human history, women have generally had little-to-no say over which men they produce offspring with, because, globally speaking, in most cultures throughout history, it has been the norm for parents to force their daughters into arranged marriages, in which the bride herself has very little control over who she ends up marrying.The concept of “marrying for love” is not entirely a modern western invention; it is notably a recurring trope in surviving ancient Greek romance novels, such as Daphnis and Chloë by Longos of Lesbos and Leukippe and Kleitophon by Achilleus Tatios (both of which I discuss in this article I wrote last year about ancient novels). Nonetheless, for the majority of women throughout history, arranged marriages have been the unfortunate reality. It has only been in the past few centuries that it has become the norm for women to have agency over who they have sex with and who they produce (or don’t produce) offspring with.Thus, if it were indeed really true that human beings have twice as many female ancestors than male, the most likely explanation for this statistic would not be that most women are “choosy” and categorically refuse to have sex with anyone but the hottest, sexiest, and most masculine men, but rather that, historically, most women have been forced into polygynous arranged marriages with men who are rich and powerful and literally never had the option of marrying anyone else.ABOVE: Detail from a late fourth-century CE Roman marble sarcophagus depicting a husband and wife holding handsThere have been real cases of societies throughout history in which it has been virtually impossible for men of low social status to marry, but, in every single case, the root cause of this has been misogyny and the oppression of women.In China during the Qing Dynasty (lasted 1636 – 1912), men were expected to support their parents when they grew old. When women married, however, they were considered to leave their natal families to join their husband’s family. As a result of this, many Chinese parents came to believe that raising daughters was a waste of time and resources because those daughters would only end up marrying into other families. It therefore became shockingly common for Chinese parents during this period to murder their own female infants immediately after they were born so that they wouldn’t have to raise them.As a result of this, there were vastly more men in Qing Dynasty China than women. Because respectable parents generally forced the daughters they did have to marry into families that were relatively well-off, it became virtually impossible for men below a certain social status to marry and have children.These poor men who could not get married because of their social status became known as 光棍 (guāng gùn), which literally means “bare sticks.” They often moved around from place-to-place looking for work and often worked hard jobs as manual laborers, masons, or barge pullers on the Grand Canal. Because marriage was seen as an important part of a man’s social status, these men who couldn’t get married were distrusted and looked down upon by society. And the root cause of their suffering was, in fact, the patriarchy itself.Women’s liberation should actually be a cause of huge celebration for underprivileged men who are interested in having sex with women, because it means that women should be allowed to do what they want with their own bodies and have sex (or not have sex) with whomever they want. This means that, in a society where women are free, they are not institutionally forced into arranged marriages to privileged men and are therefore free to have sex with less privileged men if they so choose. This inherently gives underprivileged men better chances.ABOVE: Illustration from a Qing Dynasty Chinese anti-infanticide tract from c. 1800, depicting a husband and wife preparing to drown their own female infantUnfortunately, Jordan Peterson does not seem to realize this. In April 2018, a self-identified “incel” (i.e., “involuntary celibate”) named Alek Minassian committed a terrorist attack in Toronto in which he killed ten people (eight of whom were women) and injured sixteen others, because he was angry that women weren’t having sex with him. Jordan Peterson responded to the attack in the same interview with The New York Times I mentioned earlier, saying:“He [i.e., Alek Minassian] was angry at God because women were rejecting him. The cure for that is enforced monogamy. That’s actually why monogamy emerges.”Peterson goes on in the interview to clarify that he believes the reason why men commit acts of terrorism is because women have too much choice in who they have sex with and, therefore, “a small percentage of the guys have hyper-access to women.” Peterson seems to believe that the obvious solution to this problem is that women should not be allowed to have so much choice in who they couple with.Peterson seems completely blind to the reality that a system of “enforced monogamy” in which women are forced into arranged monogamous relationships only benefits men who are already very privileged.ABOVE: Collage from this article in the National Post showing the ten people whom the self-identified “incel” Alek Minassian brutally murdered in April 2018, eight of whom were womenIgnoring myths that flout modern gender norms altogetherWe can go even further than this, however. Peterson is not only wrong in his claim that femininity is universally associated with chaos and masculinity with order, but also in his assumption that mythological gender can be accurately discussed in terms of strict, immutable binaries of “male” and “female” altogether. Peterson completely ignores the fact that myths about gender-bending are widespread throughout human cultures all over the world throughout history.As I discuss in much greater depth in this article from August 2020, stories about people changing genders are all over the place throughout ancient mythologies. It’s a notion that ancient people seem to have been quite fascinated by. Even if we go back to the very oldest surviving mythological texts from ancient Sumer in the third millennium BCE, we find gender-bending. The Sumerian goddess Inanna, who was one of the most prominent figures in the Sumerian pantheon, is said to have had the power to confound traditional gender distinctions by turning men into women and women into men.The Akkadian poet Enheduanna lived in around the twenty-third century BCE. She was the daughter of King Sargon, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, and she worked as a priestess of Inanna in the city of Ur. She wrote a hymn to Inanna in the Sumerian language titled “Great-Hearted Mistress,” in which she makes the following declaration to the goddess, as it is translated in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL):“To run, to escape, to quiet and to pacify are yours, Inanna.To rove around, to rush, to rise up, to fall down and to ...... a companion are yours, Inanna.To open up roads and paths, a place of peace for the journey, a companion for the weak, are yours, Inanna.To keep paths and ways in good order, to shatter earth and to make it firm are yours, Inanna.To destroy, to build up, to tear out and to settle are yours, Inanna.To turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man are yours, Inanna.”Enheduanna is widely considered to be the oldest great author whose name and writings have survived to the present day. The human literary tradition therefore begins, quite literally, with a woman who wrote devotional hymns to a powerful and dangerous goddess who, among many other things, was apparently known for altering people’s genders.ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the “Disk of Enheduanna,” a bas-relief carving bearing a representation of Enheduanna, the ancient Sumerian priestess and poetPeople who are described as neither male nor female also appear in ancient Sumerian myths about Inanna. An ancient text in the Sumerian language titled Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld (ETCSL 1.4.1), which was most likely written during the Third Dynasty of Ur (lasted c. 2112 – c. 2004 BCE), describes how Inanna once descended into the Underworld, which was ruled by her sister Ereshkigal.A group of gods known as the Anunna, who are described as the “seven judges” of the Underworld, put Inanna on trial and deemed her guilty, so they struck her dead and hung her corpse on a meat hook in the Underworld. Inanna’s divine attendant Ninshubur went to all the deities and begged them to rescue Inanna from the Underworld. Eventually, the god Enki agreed to rescue her.There is apparently a rule that no male or female entity can enter the Underworld and return from it alive. Enki, however, found a clever way around this rule. Using the dirt from under his fingernails, he created two beings that were neither male nor female—known as the kur-jara and the gala-tura—and sent them into the Underworld bearing the plant and the water of life in order to revive Inanna from the dead.ABOVE: Impression from an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to between c. 2334 and c. 2154 BCE, depicting the goddess Ishtar wielding a weapon while resting her foot on the back of a roaring lion, which she holds on a leashStories about changes of sex also occur in Greek mythology. For instance, the best-known version of the myth of Teiresias holds that he was the son of a mortal shepherd named Eueres and a nymph named Chariklo. One day, when he was walking on Mount Kyllene, he discovered two serpents mating. He struck the female serpent with his staff and was instantly transformed into a woman.Teiresias lived as a woman for seven years until, one day, when she was walking on Mount Kyllene again, she found the same pair of serpents mating again. This time, she struck the male serpent and was instantly transformed back into a man. Later, Zeus and Hera got into an argument over whether the woman or the man experiences greater pleasure during sexual intercourse. Zeus insisted that it was the woman, but Hera insisted that it was the man. They summoned Teiresias to answer their question, since he was the only person they knew who had had sex as both a man and as a woman.Teiresias replied that, as a woman, he experienced nine times greater pleasure during sex than he did as a man. Hera, angered by Teiresias’s reply, cursed him with blindness, but Zeus rewarded him by granting him the gift of prophecy and declaring that he would live seven times the lifespan of a normal human being.ABOVE: Engraving from c. 1690 by the German illustrator Johann Ulrich Kraus depicting Teiresias being transformed into a womanAnother famous story is that of Iphis and Ianthe, which is told by the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (lived 43 BCE – c. 17 CE) in his long narrative poem Metamorphoses, which he wrote in Latin in around the year 8 CE. The story goes that, on the Greek island of Krete, there lived a husband named Ligdus and a wife named Telethusa. They were desperately poor. Telethusa became pregnant and Ligdus ordered her that, if the child she gave birth to was male, they would raise him, but, if the child was female, they would abandon her in the wilderness to die. (This was a very common practice in the ancient world.)The Egyptian goddess Isis appeared to Telethusa in a dream and told her that, no matter what sex the child turned out to be, she was to raise the child as a boy. Thus, although Telethusa gave birth to a female child, she told Ligdus that the child was a boy. They named the child Iphis and raised him as a boy, despite the fact that he secretly had female anatomy.When Iphis reached maturity, Ligdus—who still had no awareness of Iphis’s true anatomy—arranged for him to marry a beautiful woman named Ianthe. Iphis and Ianthe fell madly in love, but Iphis knew that he could not marry Ianthe, because he had a vagina and not a penis. Telethusa delayed the marriage as long as possible by pretending to be ill and claiming to witness various ill omens, but, eventually, she could put it off no longer.On the day before the wedding, in a final act of desperation, Telethusa brought Iphis to the temple of Isis and prayed for Isis to replace Iphis’s vagina with a penis. The goddess granted Telethusa’s prayer and, as a result, Iphis was able to marry Ianthe, the love of his life.ABOVE: Engraving from 1732 by the French illustrator Bernard Picart depicting Isis and the other Egyptian deities appearing at Telethusa’s bedside, as described by Ovid in the MetamorphosesEven if we eliminate stories involving miraculous acts of divine creation and transformation, ancient myths can still be used to argue against Peterson’s gender essentialism. In the modern world, most cisgender people assume that gender is determined before a person is born by their chromosomes and remains the same throughout life regardless of how their body may change. As I discuss in this article from March 2021, however, no one in the ancient world ever believed this, because no one in the ancient world had any idea what chromosomes were.Instead, people in the ancient world generally believed that a person’s gender was determined by the present state of their external genitalia. For this reason, people in the ancient world generally believed that people who had been born with male anatomy whose testicles and/or penis had been removed were more like women than non-castrated men. This view manifests in their mythology.The Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (lived c. 84 – c. 54 BCE) wrote his “Carmina 63” about Attis, a figure from Phrygian mythology who, according to Catullus’s telling of the myth, deliberately cut off his own penis and testicles in a fit of religious frenzy. What is interesting is that, in the poem, up until the moment of emasculation, Catullus refers to Attis using exclusively masculine forms, but, from the moment of emasculation onwards, he refers to Attis using exclusively feminine forms. Catullus does this to really drive home that idea that, as soon as Attis no longer has a penis and testicles, he is no longer male.For better or worse, Catullus’s poem very much reflects the way that many people in the ancient world thought about gender. The ancient idea that people born with male anatomy who have been castrated are automatically no longer male isn’t one that I think we should bring back, but it does illustrate that, in ancient mythology, even if we ignore stories involving miracles and fantastic occurrences, gender is portrayed as far from immutable.ABOVE: Photograph of a marble statue of the Phrygian mythological figure Attis, who is said to have cut off his/her penis and testicles in a fit of religious frenzyIgnoring context and changing mythsI think that, through this one example, I have illustrated how Jordan Peterson claims universal mythological associations that don’t really exist and attempts to back up those supposed associations by citing misleading statistics. This is, however, far from the only problem with Peterson’s handling of mythology.Peterson doesn’t just fail when he’s making broad generalizations about supposed universal correlations, but also even when he’s talking about specific myths. He routinely interprets myths in ways that ignore the specific historical and cultural contexts from which the myths in question originate.Indeed, sometimes he even completely changes details of the stories themselves in order to make them suit the interpretations he has already come up with. Rather than changing his interpretations to fit the stories, he changes the stories to fit his interpretations. Allow me to illustrate what I mean with an example.The story of JonahIn a lecture video posted on YouTube on 6 February 2017 titled “2017 Personality 02/03: Historical & Mythological Context,” Peterson talks about the story of Jonah from the Book of Jonah in the Hebrew Bible. His interpretation of the story, however, deviates wildly from the actual story that is presented in the Book of Jonah.The Book of Jonah is a short work that was originally written by an anonymous Jewish author in the Hebrew language. Internal evidence suggests that it was most likely written during the period when Judah was ruled by the Achaemenid Empire (lasted c. 539 – c. 332 BCE). In the book, YHWH, the God of Israel, tells Jonah, an Israelite man, that the people of the city of Nineveh (an Assyrian city) are sinful and that he will destroy the whole city if the people do not repent of their sins. He commands Jonah to go to the city personally and preach to the Ninevites to repent. (The actual sins of the Ninevites are, interestingly, never specified.)Jonah hates the Ninevites and he thinks they all deserve to die, so he refuses to do what YHWH tells him to do and, instead of going to Nineveh, he boards a ship that is headed to the far-away city of Tarshish. YHWH sends a storm that threatens to sink the ship and Jonah, realizing that the storm is his fault, tells his crewmates to throw him overboard. To prevent Jonah from drowning, YHWH sends a giant fish to swallow him. Jonah spends three days and three nights in the belly of the fish before it finally crawls up onto the shore and vomits him out onto the beach.ABOVE: Jonah and the Whale, painted in 1621 by the Dutch painter Pieter Lastman (lived 1583 – 1633)Finally, Jonah agrees to go the city of Nineveh. He shows up and starts half-heartedly preaching that the city will be destroyed if the people do not repent. Despite Jonah’s lack of enthusiasm for his own message, the people of Nineveh instantly repent without any hesitation and the king commands that all the people and even all the livestock must abstain from all food and water, must wear nothing but sackcloth, and must continually cry out to YHWH for mercy to show that they have truly repented. Thus, YHWH decides to spare the whole city and Jonah throws a whiny temper tantrum because he wanted to see the city destroyed.This has been a very brief summary of the Book of Jonah. A person interpreting the full story in light of its original historical and cultural context would recognize that the author is making a point within the Jewish religious tradition about the relationship between the Jewish people, the God of Israel, and foreigners. The personality of Jonah, who is at best stubborn, selfish, uncaring, and outright xenophobic, is strongly contrasted with the more merciful personality of YHWH. (Indeed, as I discuss in greater depth in this article from May 2020, I think there is a strong case to be made that the Book of Jonah is at least partially meant to be satirical.)Jordan Peterson, however, completely disregards the character of YHWH in the story altogether. He also mostly disregards the fact that Jonah is an Israelite and the Ninevites are complete foreigners living in a distant land. Instead, Peterson interprets the whole story as a universal allegory about the role of an individual living in a corrupt society. He is only able to arrive at this interpretation by ignoring important aspects of the story.ABOVE: Illustration from c. 1866 by the French illustrator Gustave Doré, depicting Jonah preaching to the NinevitesPeterson’s handling of the role of YHWH in the story of Jonah is especially interesting because he not only ignores the importance of YHWH in the story, but also blatantly inserts his own reductive capitalist economic theory into the story as a substitute for YHWH. Around twenty minutes into the lecture video I referenced earlier, Peterson says this:“Now, God threatens to destroy this city because of its corruption and I don’t think you need to presume anything particularly metaphysical about that to understand it. It’s very straightforward that, the more corrupt the culture is and the less trust is possible between individuals, the less productive the culture’s going to be, because why do anything if some corrupt person is just going to come and take it?”“You know, it might even be that the culture is so corrupt that, if you are good for something and you produce resources, you’re actually more likely to get killed because you have something of value! So, like, you’re just not going anywhere with that.”“And why would you work if you didn’t have any sense that you could store up the value of your work for some reasonable time in the future? So, if the society is corrupt and there’s no trust, it’s degenerate. And, you know, it might live for a while, but it isn’t going to last very long. And so that’s the idea: corrupt societies collapse.”Notice how the story Peterson is telling is radically different from the one that is actually in the Book of Jonah. The actual Book of Jonah says absolutely nothing about corruption leading to cultures becoming “less productive” and this leading to their eventual decline. In the actual book, the immediate threat to the city of Nineveh is not declining economic productivity as a result of political and economic corruption, but rather the terrifying divine wrath of YHWH, the God of Israel, as a result of the vague “sinfulness” of people.Peterson summarily dismisses elements of the story that actually appear in the text and introduces new elements that are never even hinted at in the text. In doing this, he is actually changing the story itself in order to make it fit his interpretation.ABOVE: Jonah Preaching to the Ninevites, painted by the Italian Baroque painter Andrea Vaccaro (lived 1604 – 1670)Also notice that the Book of Jonah never specifies what the Ninevites were doing that was sinful. All it says is that they were being sinful. Peterson assumes that there was political and economic corruption and that the common people were being lazy and refusing to work because this is apparently what he immediately thinks of when he thinks of sin.Peterson even imposes his own capitalistic values onto the text by saying that people who work for a living and produce goods and services for the economy are “good for something” and insinuating that people who do not produce goods and services for the economy are thereby worthless. The Book of Jonah says absolutely nothing whatsoever about producing goods and services for the economy being a determining factor in the value of a human being. On the contrary, the idea of the intrinsic value of all human and animal life is a core idea of the book.At the very end of the Book of Jonah, when Jonah is throwing his tantrum about how mad he is that the city of Nineveh isn’t getting destroyed, he sits down outside the city and YHWH causes a plant to grow over him to shade him from the sun. Then YHWH causes the plant to wither and Jonah gets even more upset, demanding that YHWH kill him, saying “It is better for me to die than to live.”YHWH responds by pointing out that, if Jonah cares so much about a plant that he didn’t even do anything to make grow, he should care even more about his fellow human beings and animals, who are more important than the plant. YHWH tells Jonah in the Book of Jonah 4:10–11, as translated in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV):“You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”These are the very last words in the entire Book of Jonah. The book literally ends with YHWH pleading Jonah to recognize the value of the lives of sinful foreigners.Jordan Peterson’s imposition of the idea that a person’s worth is determined by how much they benefit the economy onto the Book of Jonah is especially strange considering the fact that literally five minutes earlier in the exact same lecture video he claims that the idea that all human beings have “transcendent worth” is the “metaphysical idea that underlies western civilization.”Thus, Peterson can’t even seem to keep a consistent position on this very basic issue within the same lecture. On the one hand, he suggests that every human being has “transcendent worth,” but, five minutes later, he makes it sound like he really thinks that people should be deemed “good for something” on the basis of whether they provide goods and services for the economy. These positions are very difficult to reconcile.ABOVE: Manuscript illustration from the Augsburger Wunderzeichenbuch dating to c. 1552, depicting Jonah sitting under the plant, which is depicted in this illustration as a gourd“Western civilization” and the concept of “individual sovereignty and worth”But let’s go back to what Peterson says about the supposed connection between “western civilization” and the concept that all human beings have “transcendent worth,” because this is a claim that Peterson seems to be especially fond of making. Peterson goes into more detail talking about how “western civilization” is supposedly predicated on the idea of “individual sovereignty and worth” in another video in response to a question about the resurrection of Jesus. Here is what he says in the video:“…our functional legal systems—like the legal systems of the west—are predicated on the acceptance of its reality. And it was an idea that took many, many thousands of years to emerge. You know, first of all, the only sovereign was the king and God and then the nobles became sovereign and then men became sovereign and then, with the Christian Revolution, every individual soul became sovereign. That idea of individual sovereignty and worth is the core presupposition of our legal system—and our cultural system.”Peterson manages to mangle intellectual history so badly that it’s almost surreal. The claim that it took “thousands of years” for humans to develop a concept of “individual sovereignty and worth” and that this is a concept that is primarily associated with “the west” is entirely false.The idea that all human beings have inherent value is widespread throughout human cultures and is attested remarkably early in human history. For instance, even if we set aside the appearance of this idea in the Book of Jonah, the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (lived c. 470 – c. 391 BCE), who lived around the same time that Socrates was alive in Athens, espoused a philosophy that was founded on the idea of 兼愛 (jiān'ài). This word is usually translated as “universal love,” but is perhaps more accurately translated as “impartial caring for all people.”Mozi believed that every person should not only respect and care for those whom they were obligated to respect and care for, but respect and care for every other person equally. His ideas are described in a text titled Mozi, which may have been written partially by him and partially by his later followers.The Mozi 4.14.3–4 describes how the world’s problems are caused by people who only care for those whom they are obligated to care for and proposes that all the world’s problems would be solved if everyone cared for everyone else without discrimination or partiality. The text reads as follows, as translated by W. P. Mei:“This is true even among thieves and robbers. As he loves only his own family and not other families, the thief steals from other families to profit his own family. As he loves only his own person and not others, the robber does violence to others to profit himself. And the reason for all this is lack of love. This again is true in the mutual disturbance among the houses of the ministers and the mutual invasions among the states of the feudal lords.”“As he loves only his own house and not the others, the minister disturbs the other houses to profit his own. As he loves only his own state and not the others, the feudal lord attacks the other states to profit his own. These instances exhaust the confusion in the world. And when we look into the causes we find they all arise from lack of mutual love.”“Suppose everybody in the world loves universally, loving others as one's self. Will there yet be any unfilial individual? When every one regards his father, elder brother, and emperor as himself, whereto can he direct any unfilial feeling? Will there still be any unaffectionate individual? When every one regards his younger brother, son, and minister as himself, whereto can he direct any disaffection? Therefore there will not be any unfilial feeling or disaffection.”“Will there then be any thieves and robbers? When every one regards other families as his own family, who will steal? When every one regards other persons as his own person, who will rob? Therefore there will not be any thieves or robbers. Will there be mutual disturbance among the houses of the ministers and invasion among the states of the feudal lords? When every one regards the houses of others as one's own, who will be disturbing? When every one regards the states of others as one's own, who will invade? Therefore there will be neither disturbances among the houses of the ministers nor invasion among the states of the feudal lords.”Now, someone who supports Jordan Peterson might try to argue that Mozi is arguing for universal love, not the universal worth of all human beings. I, however, would counter that a person can’t really argue for universal love without having first accepted the premise that all other human beings are worth loving, which requires a person to accept that every human being has some kind of inherent worth.So, if the concept of “individual worth” is one that has supposedly only emerged in “the west” relatively recently, would Peterson mind explaining how an ancient Chinese philosopher apparently came to believe in it over 2,400 years ago?ABOVE: Modern imaginative illustration showing what the artist imagined Mozi might have looked like. (No one knows what he really looked like.)What Peterson is really doing with mythsJordan Peterson often speaks as though he derives his ideas from studying world cultures and mythologies. In reality, in most cases, he is actually using myths to present his own views in a way that makes them seem as though they are based on the traditions of different cultures around the world and are therefore wise, thoughtful, and worthy of contemplation.Unfortunately, the views that Peterson routinely uses mythology to promote are extremely socially regressive ones. Everything Peterson says seems to suggest that he believes men are, at least in general, superior to women and that so-called “western civilization” is, at least in general, superior to other civilizations.Indeed, Peterson is actually remarkably regressive even when compared to a lot of other online right-wing pundits posing as intellectuals. Most of these pundits make at least some vague pretense of supporting the gains in civil rights made through the civil rights movements of the late twentieth century, but they try to insist that there are simply no more gains to be made. Peterson, however, makes it pretty clear from the start that he doesn’t really think the civil rights movements of the late twentieth century were necessary to begin with.For instance, in the interview with The New York Times that I have referenced several times already in this article, Peterson severely criticizes the 1963 book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan—which critiques the fact it was not widely socially acceptable for a woman in the early 1960s to do anything else with her life other than remain a housewife. Peterson says:“I read Betty Friedan’s book because I was very curious about it, and it’s so whiny, it’s just enough to drive a modern person mad to listen to these suburban housewives from the late ’50s ensconced in their comfortable secure lives complaining about the fact that they’re bored because they don’t have enough opportunity. It’s like, Jesus get a hobby. For Christ’s sake, you — you —”It is certainly true that, as an upper-middle-class white woman, Betty Friedan was writing from a position of relative privilege. It is also true that the form of feminism she promoted focused primarily on upper-middle-class white women and did not adequately address the situations of women who are relatively more marginalized, including women of lower-class backgrounds in general, women of minority ethnic backgrounds, women who are recent immigrants, lesbian and bisexual women, transgender women, and so forth.This does not, however, mean that Friedan did not have any valid points. Friedan’s main point in her book is that many women don’t find life as a housewife fulfilling or desirable and they feel trapped by social expectations. Unfortunately, Peterson doesn’t seem to understand this point. He seems to think that women who don’t want to be housewives in general are simply unbearably “whiny” and that they should just be housewives and “find hobbies.” In other words, even one of the blandest proposals of early second-wave feminism is apparently too radical for Peterson!Similarly, in the same interview, in response to the fact that most of the people in the highest positions of power in most areas of society are men, Peterson is quoted as saying this:“The people who hold that our culture is an oppressive patriarchy, they don’t want to admit that the current hierarchy might be predicated on competence.”In saying this, Peterson is obviously implying that men are not in power in most areas of society because social oppression makes it hard for women to get ahead, but rather because men are just naturally more competent than women. (Also notice how Peterson automatically leaps from one supposition to the other without considering any alternatives. He ignores the fact that, even if the first proposition is false, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the second proposition is true.)ABOVE: Staged photograph from 1941 depicting the ideal of the mid-twentieth-century suburban housewifeEven the way Peterson tries to demonize those who disagree with him is so atavistic and bizarrely out-of-touch with the reality of the twenty-first century that it comes across as downright quaint. He frequently claims that progressives and leftists are promoting an ideology based on “Postmodern Neo-Marxism.”This label is, first of all, a very strange oxymoron, considering that Marxism is such an inherently Modernist ideology that it is very hard to imagine what a “Postmodern” form of it might look like. There is a real trend in political and social philosophy known as “Post-Marxism,” which seeks to deconstruct Marxism using the toolkit of Postmodern critique, but that’s clearly not what Peterson is talking about when he uses the phrase “Postmodern Neo-Marxism,” since he applies this label generally to anyone with vaguely progressive-sounding ideas, including people totally unaffiliated with Post-Marxism.It also seems like a strange anachronism that Peterson is still fearmongering about freaking Marxism in the third decade of the twenty-first century—as though we were still living in the early 1950s, with the Second Red Scare at its height and the Soviet Union still in existence, ruled by Joseph Stalin. Most of the world has moved on since then and we’ve found new and different things to be afraid of.ABOVE: Photograph of Karl Marx taken in 1875Somehow, though, this isn’t even the most hilariously out-of-touch effort on Peterson’s part to make people with progressive social values sound scary. On 18 June 2018, the right-wing propaganda network calling itself “PragerU” released a video featuring Jordan Peterson titled “Who Is Teaching Your Kids?” in which Peterson tries to argue that evil radical leftist professors are indoctrinating college students into their harmful ideology. He declares:“Their thinking took hold in western universities in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when the true believers of the radical left became the professors of today.”As Peterson speaks these words, a cartoon appears on the screen depicting a long-haired, bearded man who is clearly supposed to be a hippie sitting on the grass playing a guitar. This is swiftly followed by a cartoon of a long-haired, bearded man with rose-tinted John Lennon glasses and a red T-shirt with a peace sign on it who gradually turns into a grey-haired professor.Now, it’s true enough that a handful of the very oldest professors who are still teaching were involved to some degree in the counterculture during the 1960s and ‘70s. For instance, I was personally fortunate enough to have the eminent Edward T. Linenthal as my professor for a class sophomore year. He’s currently seventy-three years old and one of the oldest professors still teaching, but the entire class thought he was the coolest professor in the world after we found out that, in the 1960s, he was the drummer in a rock band called “The Thyme,” which, at various points, opened for Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Cream, and MC5.What baffles me, though, is that Peterson evidently thinks he can make professors with progressive social values sound scary by linking them to… hippies??? Truly, what decade does he think we are living in? Peterson himself was born in 1962, which means he wasn’t even in his twenties until the 1980s. He is actually significantly younger than most of the people who were hippies. It seems like he’s trying to pander his fearmongering to people who are at least a generation older than himself—but yet the people in those older generations who are still alive are precisely the people who are least likely to be watching PragerU videos on YouTube.As quaint as all this is, it’s all part of the ideology Peterson is selling—and he’s using mythology he doesn’t really understand to do it.ABOVE: Screenshot of the cartoon of the hippie playing the guitar from Jordan Peterson’s PragerU video(NOTE: I have also published a version of this article on my website titled “Jordan Peterson Does Not Understand Mythology.” Here is a link to the version of the article on my website.)

No need to worry! Here, I am sharing a List of Online Shopping Sites in India or download All-in-One Online Shopping appOnline shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2016, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a regular "bricks-and-mortar" retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When an online store is set up to enable businesses to buy from another businesses, the process is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. A typical online store enables the customer to browse the firm's range of products and services, view photos or images of the products, along with information about the product specifications, features and prices.Online stores typically enable shoppers to use "search" features to find specific models, brands or items. Online customers must have access to the Internet and a valid method of payment in order to complete a transaction, such as a credit card, an Interac-enabled debit card, or a service such as PayPal. For physical products (e.g., paperback books or clothes), the e-tailer ships the products to the customer; for digital products, such as digital audio files of songs or software, the e-tailer typically sends the file to the customer over the Internet. The largest of these online retailing corporations are Alibaba, Amazon.com, and eBay.[1]Part of a series onE-commerceOnline goods and servicesDigital distributionE-booksSoftwareStreaming mediaRetail servicesBankingDVD-by-mailFlower deliveryFood orderingGroceryPharmacyTravelMarketplace servicesAdvertisingAuctionsComparison shoppingSocial commerceTrading communitiesWalletMobile commercePaymentTicketingCustomer serviceCall centreHelp deskLive support softwareE-procurementPurchase-to-payvteContents1 Terminology2 History 2.1 History of Online Shopping 2.2 Growth in Online Shoppers3 International statistics4 Customers5 Customer buying behaviour in digital environment6 Product selection7 Payment8 Product delivery9 Shopping cart systems10 Design 10.1 Information load 10.2 Consumer needs and expectations 10.3 User interface11 Market share12 Advantages 12.1 Convenience 12.2 Information and reviews 12.3 Price and selection13 Disadvantages 13.1 Fraud and security concerns 13.2 Lack of full cost disclosure 13.3 Privacy14 Product suitability15 Aggregation16 Impact of reviews on consumer behaviour17 See also18 ReferencesTerminologyAlternative names for the activity are "e-tailing", a shortened form of "electronic retail" or "e-shopping", a shortened form of "electronic shopping". An online store may also be called an e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. Mobile commerce (or m-commerce) describes purchasing from an online retailer's mobile device-optimized website or software application ("app"). These websites or apps are designed to enable customers to browse through a companies' products and services on tablet computers and smartphones.HistoryHistory of Online ShoppingThe growth of the internet as a secure shopping channel has developed since 1994, with the first sales of Sting album 'Ten Summoner's Tales'.[2]Wine, chocolates and flowers soon followed and were among the pioneering retail categories which fueled the growth of online shopping. Researchers found that having products that are appropriate for e-commerce was a key indicator of Internet success.[3]Many of these products did well as they are generic products which shoppers didn't need to touch and feel in order to buy. But also importantly in the early days there were few shoppers online and they were from a narrow segment: affluent, male, 30+. Online shopping has come along way since these early days and -in the UK- accounts for significant percents (depending on product category as percentages can vary).Growth in Online ShoppersAs the revenues from online sales continued to grow significantly researchers identified different types of online shoppers, Rohm & Swaninathan[4]identified four categories and named them "convenience shoppers, variety seekers, balanced buyers, and store-oriented shoppers". They focused on shopping motivations and found that the variety of products available and the perceived convenience of the buying online experience were significant motivating factors. This was different for offline shoppers, who were more motivated by time saving and recreational motives.Digital High Street 2020[5]Michael Aldrich, pioneer of online shopping in the 1980s.English entrepreneur Michael Aldrich was a pioneer of online shopping in 1979. His system connected a modified domestic TV to a real-time transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone line. He believed that videotex, the modified domestic TV technology with a simple menu-driven human–computer interface, was a 'new, universally applicable, participative communication medium — the first since the invention of the telephone.' This enabled 'closed' corporate information systems to be opened to 'outside' correspondents not just for transaction processing but also for e-messaging and information retrieval and dissemination, later known as e-business.[6]His definition of the new mass communications medium as 'participative' [interactive, many-to-many] was fundamentally different from the traditional definitions of mass communication and mass media and a precursor to the social networking on the Internet 25 years later. In March 1980 he launched Redifon's Office Revolution, which allowed consumers, customers, agents, distributors, suppliers and service companies to be connected on-line to the corporate systems and allow business transactions to be completed electronically in real-time.[7]During the 1980s[8]he designed, manufactured, sold, installed, maintained and supported many online shopping systems, using videotex technology.[9]These systems which also provided voice response and handprint processing pre-date the Internet and the World Wide Web, the IBM PC, and Microsoft MS-DOS, and were installed mainly in the UK by large corporations.The first World Wide Web server and browser, created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990, opened for commercial use in 1991.[10]Thereafter, subsequent technological innovations emerged in 1994: online banking, the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut,[10]Netscape's SSL v2 encryption standard for secure data transfer, and Intershop's first online shopping system. The first secure retail transaction over the Web was either by NetMarket or Internet Shopping Network in 1994.[11]Immediately after, Amazon.com launched its online shopping site in 1995 and eBay was also introduced in 1995.[10]Alibaba's sites Taobao and Tmall were launched in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Retailers are increasingly selling goods and services prior to availability through "pretail" for testing, building, and managing demand.[citation needed]International statisticsStatistics show that in 2012, Asia-Pacific increased their international sales over 30% giving them over $433 billion in revenue. That is a $69 billion difference between the U.S. revenue of $364.66 billion. It is estimated that Asia-Pacific will increase by another 30% in the year 2013 putting them ahead by more than one-third of all global ecommerce sales.[needs update]The largest online shopping day in the world is Singles Day, with sales just in Alibaba's sites at US$9.3 billion in 2014.[12][13]CustomersOnline customers must have access to the Internet and a valid method of payment in order to complete a transaction. Generally, higher levels of education and personal income correspond to more favorable perceptions of shopping online. Increased exposure to technology also increases the probability of developing favorable attitudes towards new shopping channels.[14]Customer buying behaviour in digital environmentThe marketing around the digital environment, customer's buying behaviour may not be influenced and controlled by the brand and firm, when they make a buying decision that might concern the interactions with search engine, recommendations, online reviews and other information. With the quickly separate of the digital devices environment, people are more likely to use their mobile phones, computers, tablets and other digital devices to gather information. In other words, the digital environment has a growing effect on consumer’s mind and buying behaviour. In an online shopping environment, interactive decision may have an influence on aid customer decision making. Each customer is becoming more interactive, and though online reviews customers can influence other potential buyers' behaviors.[15]Subsequently, risk and trust would also are two important factors affecting people's' behavior in digital environments. Customer consider to switch between e-channels, because they are mainly influence by the comparison with offline shopping, involving growth of security, financial and performance-risks In other words, a customer shopping online that they may receive more risk than people shopping in stores. There are three factors may influence people to do the buying decision, firstly, people cannot examine whether the product satisfy their needs and wants before they receive it. Secondly, customer may concern at after-sale services. Finally, customer may afraid that they cannot fully understand the language used in e-sales. Based on those factors customer perceive risk may as a significantly reason influence the online purchasing behaviour.[16]Online retailers has place much emphasis on customer trust aspect, trust is another way driving customer’s behaviour in digital environment, which can depend on customer’s attitude and expectation. Indeed, the company’s products design or ideas can not met customer’s expectations. Customer’s purchase intension based on rational expectations, and additionally impacts on emotional trust. Moreover, those expectations can be also establish on the product information and revision from others.[17]Product selectionConsumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine. Once a particular product has been found on the website of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, like filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout" process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. Some stores allow consumers to sign up for a permanent online account so that some or all of this information only needs to be entered once. The consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete. Less sophisticated stores may rely on consumers to phone or e-mail their orders (although full credit card numbers, expiry date, and Card Security Code,[18]or bank account and routing number should not be accepted by e-mail, for reasons of security).PaymentOnline shoppers commonly use a credit card or a PayPal account in order to make payments. However, some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:Billing to mobile phones and landlines[19][20]Cash on delivery (C.O.D.)Cheque/ CheckDebit cardDirect debit in some countriesElectronic money of various typesGift cardsPostal money orderWire transfer/delivery on paymentInvoice, especially popular in some markets/countries, such as SwitzerlandBitcoin or other cryptocurrenciesSome online shops will not accept international credit cards. Some require both the purchaser's billing and shipping address to be in the same country as the online shop's base of operation. Other online shops allow customers from any country to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction may be processed in real time (e.g. letting the consumer know their credit card was declined before they log off), or may be done later as part of the fulfillment process.Product deliveryOnce a payment has been accepted, the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways. For physical items:Shipping: The product is shipped to a customer-designated address. Retail package delivery is typically done by the public postal system or a retail courier such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, or TNT.Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who then ships the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer's physical location to save time, money, and space.In-store pick-up: The customer selects a local store using a locator software and picks up the delivered product at the selected location. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks business model.For digital items or tickets:Downloading/Digital distribution:[21] The method often used for digital media products such as software, music, movies, or images.Printing out, provision of a code for, or e-mailing of such items as admission tickets and scrip (e.g., gift certificates and coupons). The tickets, codes, or coupons may be redeemed at the appropriate physical or online premises and their content reviewed to verify their eligibility (e.g., assurances that the right of admission or use is redeemed at the correct time and place, for the correct dollar amount, and for the correct number of uses).Will call, COBO (in Care Of Box Office), or "at the door" pickup: The patron picks up pre-purchased tickets for an event, such as a play, sporting event, or concert, either just before the event or in advance. With the onset of the Internet and e-commerce sites, which allow customers to buy tickets online, the popularity of this service has increased.Shopping cart systemsSimple shopping cart systems allow the off-line administration of products and categories. The shop is then generated as HTML files and graphics that can be uploaded to a webspace. The systems do not use an online database.[22]A high-end solution can be bought or rented as a stand-alone program or as an addition to an enterprise resource planning program. It is usually installed on the company's web server and may integrate into the existing supply chain so that ordering, payment, delivery, accounting and warehousing can be automated to a large extent. Other solutions allow the user to register and create an online shop on a portal that hosts multiple shops simultaneously from one back office. Examples are Big Commerce, Shopify and FlickRocket. Open source shopping cart packages include advanced platforms such as Interchange, and off-the-shelf solutions such as Magento, osCommerce, Shopgate, PrestaShop, and Zen Cart. Commercial systems can also be tailored so the shop does not have to be created from scratch. By using an existing framework, software modules for various functionalities required by a web shop can be adapted and combined.[citation needed]DesignCustomers are attracted to online shopping not only because of high levels of convenience, but also because of broader selections, competitive pricing, and greater access to information.[23][24]Business organizations seek to offer online shopping not only because it is of much lower cost compared to bricks and mortar stores, but also because it offers access to a worldwide market, increases customer value, and builds sustainable capabilities.[clarification needed][25]Information loadDesigners of online shops are concerned with the effects of information load. Information load is a product of the spatial and temporal arrangements of stimuli in the web store.[26]Compared with conventional retail shopping, the information environment of virtual shopping is enhanced by providing additional product information such as comparative products and services, as well as various alternatives and attributes of each alternative, etc.[27]Two major dimensions of information load are complexity and novelty.[28]Complexity refers to the number of different elements or features of a site, often the result of increased information diversity. Novelty involves the unexpected, suppressed, new, or unfamiliar aspects of the site. The novelty dimension may keep consumers exploring a shopping site, whereas the complexity dimension may induce impulse purchases.[27]Consumer needs and expectationsAccording to the output of a research report by Western Michigan University published in 2005, an e-commerce website does not have to be good looking with listing on a lot of search engines. It must build relationships with customers to make money. The report also suggests that a website must leave a positive impression on the customers, giving them a reason to come back.[29]Dyn, an Internet performance management company conducted a survey on more than 1400 consumers across 11 countries in North America, Europe, Middle-East and Asia and the results of the survey are as follows:Online retailers must improve the website speedOnline retailers must ease consumers fear around securityThese concerns majorly affect the decisions of almost two thirds of the consumers.[30]User interfaceAn automated online assistant, with potential to enhance user interface on shopping sites.The most important factors determining whether customers return to a website are ease of use and the presence of user-friendly features.[31]Usability testing is important for finding problems and improvements in a web site. Methods for evaluating usability include heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough, and user testing. Each technique has its own characteristics and emphasizes different aspects of the user experience.[31]Market shareThe popularity of online shopping continues to erode sales of conventional retailers. For example, Best Buy, the largest retailer of electronics in the U.S. in August 2014 reported its tenth consecutive quarterly dip in sales, citing an increasing shift by consumers to online shopping.[32]There were 242 million people shopping online in China in 2012.[33]For developing countries and low-income households in developed countries, adoption of e-commerce in place of or in addition to conventional methods is limited by a lack of affordable Internet access.AdvantagesConvenienceOnline stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers in Western countries have Internet access both at work and at home. Other establishments such as Internet cafes, community centers and schools provide internet access as well. In contrast, visiting a conventional retail store requires travel or commuting and costs such as gas, parking, or bus tickets, and must typically take place during business hours. In the event of a problem with the item (e.g., the product was not what the consumer ordered or the product was not satisfactory), consumers are concerned with the ease of returning an item in exchange for the correct product or a refund. Consumers may need to contact the retailer, visit the post office and pay return shipping, and then wait for a replacement or refund. Some online companies have more generous return policies to compensate for the traditional advantage of physical stores. For example, the online shoe retailer Zappos.com includes labels for free return shipping, and does not charge a restocking fee, even for returns which are not the result of merchant error. (Note: In the United Kingdom, online shops are prohibited from charging a restocking fee if the consumer cancels their order in accordance with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Act 2000).[34]Information and reviewsOnline stores must describe products for sale with text, photos, and multimedia files, whereas in a physical retail store, the actual product and the manufacturer's packaging will be available for direct inspection (which might involve a test drive, fitting, or other experimentation). Some online stores provide or link to supplemental product information, such as instructions, safety procedures, demonstrations, or manufacturer specifications. Some provide background information, advice, or how-to guides designed to help consumers decide which product to buy. Some stores even allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are also dedicated review sites that host user reviews for different products. Reviews and even some blogs give customers the option of shopping for cheaper purchases from all over the world without having to depend on local retailers. In a conventional retail store, clerks are generally available to answer questions. Some online stores have real-time chat features, but most rely on e-mails or phone calls to handle customer questions. Even if an online store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the customer service team may only be available during regular business hours.Price and selectionOne advantage of shopping online is being able to quickly seek out deals for items or services provided by many different vendors (though some local search engines do exist to help consumers locate products for sale in nearby stores). Search engines, online price comparison services and discovery shopping engines can be used to look up sellers of a particular product or service. Shipping costs (if applicable) reduce the price advantage of online merchandise, though depending on the jurisdiction, a lack of sales tax may compensate for this. Shipping a small number of items, especially from another country, is much more expensive than making the larger shipments bricks-and-mortar retailers order. Some retailers (especially those selling small, high-value items like electronics) offer free shipping on sufficiently large orders. Another major advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch suppliers and vendors without disrupting users' shopping experience.DisadvantagesFraud and security concernsGiven the lack of ability to inspect merchandise before purchase, consumers are at higher risk of fraud than face-to-face transactions. When ordering merchandise online, the item may not work properly, it may have defects, or it might not be the same item pictured in the online photo. Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases if customers are using stolen credit cards or fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. However, merchants face less risk from physical theft by using a warehouse instead of a retail storefront. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption has generally solved the problem of credit card numbers being intercepted in transit between the consumer and the merchant. However, one must still trust the merchant (and employees) not to use the credit card information subsequently for their own purchases, and not to pass the information to others. Also, hackers might break into a merchant's web site and steal names, addresses and credit card numbers, although the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is intended to minimize the impact of such breaches. Identity theft is still a concern for consumers. A number of high-profile break-ins in the 2000s has prompted some U.S. states to require disclosure to consumers when this happens. Computer security has thus become a major concern for merchants and e-commerce service providers, who deploy countermeasures such as firewalls and anti-virus software to protect their networks. Phishing is another danger, where consumers are fooled into thinking they are dealing with a reputable retailer, when they have actually been manipulated into feeding private information to a system operated by a malicious party. Denial of service attacks are a minor risk for merchants, as are server and network outages.Quality seals can be placed on the Shop web page if it has undergone an independent assessment and meets all requirements of the company issuing the seal. The purpose of these seals is to increase the confidence of online shoppers. However, the existence of many different seals, or seals unfamiliar to consumers, may foil this effort to a certain extent.A number of resources offer advice on how consumers can protect themselves when using online retailer services. These include:Sticking with well-known stores, or attempting to find independent consumer reviews of their experiences; also ensuring that there is comprehensive contact information on the website before using the service, and noting if the retailer has enrolled in industry oversight programs such as a trust mark or a trust seal.Before buying from a new company, evaluating the website by considering issues such as: the professionalism and user-friendliness of the site; whether or not the company lists a telephone number and/or street address along with e-contact information; whether a fair and reasonable refund and return policy is clearly stated; and whether there are hidden price inflators, such as excessive shipping and handling charges.Ensuring that the retailer has an acceptable privacy policy posted. For example, note if the retailer does not explicitly state that it will not share private information with others without consent.Ensuring that the vendor address is protected with SSL (see above) when entering credit card information. If it does the address on the credit card information entry screen will start with "HTTPS".Using strong passwords which do not contain personal information such as the user's name or birthdate. Another option is a "pass phrase," which might be something along the lines: "I shop 4 good a buy!!" These are difficult to hack, since they do not consist of words found in a dictionary, and provides a variety of upper, lower, and special characters. These passwords can be site specific and may be easy to remember.Although the benefits of online shopping are considerable, when the process goes poorly it can create a thorny situation. A few problems that shoppers potentially face include identity theft, faulty products, and the accumulation of spyware. If users are required to put in their credit card information and billing/shipping address and the website is not secure, customer information can be accessible to anyone who knows how to obtain it. Most large online corporations are inventing new ways to make fraud more difficult. However, criminals are constantly responding to these developments with new ways to manipulate the system. Even though online retailers are making efforts to protect consumer information, it is a constant fight to maintain the lead. It is advisable to be aware of the most current technology and scams to protect consumer identity and finances. Product delivery is also a main concern of online shopping. Most companies offer shipping insurance in case the product is lost or damaged. Some shipping companies will offer refunds or compensation for the damage, but this is up to their discretion.Lack of full cost disclosureThe lack of full cost disclosure may also be problematic. While it may be easy to compare the base price of an item online, it may not be easy to see the total cost up front. Additional fees such as shipping are often not visible until the final step in the checkout process. The problem is especially evident with cross-border purchases, where the cost indicated at the final checkout screen may not include additional fees that must be paid upon delivery such as duties and brokerage. Some services such as the Canadian-based Wishabi attempts to include estimates of these additional cost,[35]but nevertheless, the lack of general full cost disclosure remains a concern.PrivacyPrivacy of personal information is a significant issue for some consumers. Many consumers wish to avoid spam and telemarketing which could result from supplying contact information to an online merchant. In response, many merchants promise to not use consumer information for these purposes, Many websites keep track of consumer shopping habits in order to suggest items and other websites to view. Brick-and-mortar stores also collect consumer information. Some ask for a shopper's address and phone number at checkout, though consumers may refuse to provide it. Many larger stores use the address information encoded on consumers' credit cards (often without their knowledge) to add them to a catalog mailing list. This information is obviously not accessible to the merchant when paying in cash or through a bank (money transfer, in which case there is also proof of payment).Product suitabilityThis section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Many successful purely virtual companies deal with digital products, (including information storage, retrieval, and modification), music, movies, office supplies, education, communication, software, photography, and financial transactions. Other successful marketers use drop shipping or affiliate marketing techniques to facilitate transactions of tangible goods without maintaining real inventory. Some non-digital products have been more successful than others for online stores. Profitable items often have a high value-to-weight ratio, they may involve embarrassing purchases, they may typically go to people in remote locations, and they may have shut-ins as their typical purchasers. Items which can fit in a standard mailbox—such as music CDs, DVDs and books—are particularly suitable for a virtual marketer.Products such as spare parts, both for consumer items like washing machines and for industrial equipment like centrifugal pumps, also seem good candidates for selling online. Retailers often need to order spare parts specially, since they typically do not stock them at consumer outlets—in such cases, e-commerce solutions in spares do not compete with retail stores, only with other ordering systems. A factor for success in this niche can consist of providing customers with exact, reliable information about which part number their particular version of a product needs, for example by providing parts lists keyed by serial number. Products less suitable for e-commerce include products that have a low value-to-weight ratio, products that have a smell, taste, or touch component, products that need trial fittings—most notably clothing—and products where colour integrity appears important. Nonetheless, some web sites have had success delivering groceries and clothing sold through the internet is big business in the U.S.AggregationHigh-volume websites, such as Yahoo!, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more,and eBay, offer hosting services for online stores to all size retailers. These stores are presented within an integrated navigation framework, sometimes known as virtual shopping malls or online marketplaces.Impact of reviews on consumer behaviourOne of the great benefits of online shopping is the ability to read product reviews, written either by experts or fellow online shoppers. The Nielsen Company conducted a survey in March 2010 and polled more than 27,000 Internet users in 55 markets from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South America to look at questions such as "How do consumers shop online?", "What do they intend to buy?", "How do they use various online shopping web pages?", and the impact of social media and other factors that come into play when consumers are trying to decide how to spend their money on which product or service. According to the research,[36]reviews on electronics (57%) such as DVD players, cellphones, or PlayStations, and so on, reviews on cars (45%), and reviews on software (37%) play an important role in influencing consumers who tend to make purchases online. Furthermore, 40% of online shoppers indicate that they would not even buy electronics without consulting online reviews first.In addition to online reviews, peer recommendations on online shopping pages or social media websites play a key role[37]for online shoppers when they are researching future purchases.[38]90% of all purchases made are influenced by social media.[39]A retailer or a shop is a business that presents a selection of goods and offers to trade or sell them to customers for money or other goods. Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. In some contexts it may be considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one.In modern days customer focus is more transferred towards online shopping; worldwide people order products from different regions and online retailers deliver their products to their homes, offices or wherever they want. The B2C (business to consumer) process has made it easy for consumers to select any product online from a retailer's website and have it delivered to the consumer within no time. The consumer does not need to consume his energy by going out to the stores and saves his time and cost of travelling.A woman shopping at a shopping mall in the United States in December 2005The shopping experience can range from delightful to terrible, based on a variety of factors including how the customer is treated, convenience, the type of goods being purchased, and mood.[1]The shopping experience can also be influenced by other shoppers. For example, research from a field experiment found that male and female shoppers who were accidentally touched from behind by other shoppers left a store earlier than people who had not been touched and evaluated brands more negatively, resulting in the Accidental Interpersonal Touch effect.[2]According to a 2000 report, in the U.S. state of New York, women purchase 80% of all consumer goods and influence 80% of health-care decisions.[3]Contents1 History1.1 Ancient era1.2 Consumer shopping1.3 Department stores2 Shopping venues2.1 Shopping hubs2.2 Stores2.2.1 Home shopping2.2.2 Neighborhood shopping2.2.3 Party shopping3 Shopping activity3.1 Shopping seasons4 Pricing and negotiation4.1 "Window shopping"5 Utility Cycling6 See also7 ReferencesHistoryAncient eraIn ancient Greece, the agora served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods. Ancient Rome utilized a similar marketplace known as the forum. For example, there was Trajan's Market with tabernae that served as retailing units.Shopping lists are known to have been used by Romans, as one was discovered near Hadrian's wall dated back to 75–125 CE written for a soldier.[4]Fairs and markets were established to facilitate the exchange of goods and services. People would shop for goods at a weekly market in nearby towns.Consumer shoppingBernard Mandeville's work The Fable of the Bees, which justified conspicuous consumption.The modern phenomenon of shopping is closely linked to the emergence of the consumer society in the 18th century. Over the course of the two centuries from 1600 onwards, the purchasing power of the average Englishman steadily rose. Sugar consumption doubled in the first half of the 18th century and the availability of a wide range of luxury goods, including tea and cotton saw a sustained increase.[5]Marketplaces dating back to the Middle Ages, expanded as shopping centres, such as the New Exchange, opened in 1609 by Robert Cecil in the Strand. Shops started to become important as places for Londoners to meet and socialise and became popular destinations alongside the theatre. Restoration London also saw the growth of luxury buildings as advertisements for social position with speculative architects like Nicholas Barbon and Lionel Cranfield.Much pamphleteering of the time was devoted to justifying conspicuous consumption and private vice for luxury goods for the greater public good. This then scandalous line of thought caused great controversy with the publication of Bernard Mandeville's influential work Fable of the Bees in 1714, in which he argued that a country's prosperity ultimately lay in the self-interest of the consumer.[6]Josiah Wedgewood's pottery, a status symbol of consumerism in the late 18th century.These trends were vastly accelerated in the 18th century, as rising prosperity and social mobility increased the number of people with disposable income for consumption. Important shifts included the marketing of goods for individuals as opposed to items for the household, and the new status of goods as status symbols, related to changes in fashion and desired for aesthetic appeal, as opposed to just their utility. The pottery inventor and entrepreneur, Josiah Wedgewood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to influence and manipulate the direction of the prevailing tastes.[7]As the century wore on a tremendous variety of goods and manufactures were steadily made available for the urban middle and upper classes. This growth in consumption led to the rise of 'shopping' - a proliferation of retail shops selling particular goods and the acceptance of shopping as a cultural activity in its own right. Specific streets and districts became devoted to retail, including the Strand and Picadilly in London.[5]The first display windows in shops were installed in the late 18th century in London. Retailer Francis Place was one of the first to experiment with this new retailing method at his tailoring establishment in Charing Cross, where he fitted the shop-front with large plate glass windows. Although this was condemned by many, he defended his practice in his memoirs, claiming that he:sold from the window more goods...than paid journeymen's wages and the expenses of housekeeping.[8]Retailers designed attractive shop fronts to entice patronage, using bright lights, advertisements and attractively arranged goods. The goods on offer were in a constant state of change, due to the frenetic change in fashions. A foreign visitor thought that London was "A world of gold and silver plate, then pearls and gems shedding their dazzling lustre, home manufactures of the most exquisite taste, an ocean of rings, watches, chains, bracelets, perfumes, ready-dresses, ribbons, lace, bonnets, and fruits from all the zones of the habitable world".[5]Department storesLe Bon Marché, founded in Paris, offered a wide variety of goods in "departments" inside one building, from 1851.The next stage in shopping was the transition from 'single-function' shops selling one type of good, to the department store where a large variety of goods were sold. As economic growth, fueled by the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 19th-century, steadily expanded, the affluent bourgeois middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group was the catalyst for the emergence of the retail revolution of the period. The first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co, which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall, London.[9]This venture was described as being a public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. This pioneering shop was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved. Department stores were established on a large scale from the 1840s and 50s, in France, the United Kingdom and the USShopping venuesShopping hubsA larger commercial zone can be found in many cities, more formally called a central business district, but more commonly called "downtown" in the United States, or in Arab cities, souks. Shopping hubs, or shopping centers, are collections of stores; that is a grouping of several businesses.A group of women window shopping in Toronto, Canada in 1937Typical examples include shopping malls, town squares, flea markets and bazaars.A shopping hub or centre, is a collection of retail, entertainment and service stores designed to serve products and services to the surrounding region. Traditionally, shopping hubs were called bazaars or marketplaces which were generally an assortment of stalls lining streets selling a large variety of goods.[10] The modern shopping centre is now different from its antecedents, the stores are commonly in individual buildings or compressed into one large structure (Mall).[11] The first modern shopping mall was The Country Club Plaza in Kansas City which opened in 1922, from there the first enclosed mall was designed by Victor Gruen and opened in 1956 as Southdale Centre in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Malls peaked in America in the 1980s-1990s when many larger malls (more than 37,000 sq m in size) were built, attracting consumers from within a 32 km radius with their luxurious department stores.[12] There are different types of malls around the world, the Superregional malls are very large malls that contain at least five department stores and 300 shops, this mall can appeal to a broad radius (up to a 160-km). A regional mall can contain at least two department stores or "anchor stores".[13] The smaller malls are often called open-air strip centres or mini-marts and are typically attached to a grocery store or supermarket. The smaller malls are less likely to include the same features of a large mall such as an indoor concourse, but are beginning to evolve to become enclosed to comply with all weather and customer preferences.[12]StoresStores are divided into multiple categories of stores which sell a selected set of goods or services. Usually they are tiered by target demographics based on the disposable income of the shopper. They can be tiered from cheap to pricey.Some shops sell secondhand goods. Often the public can also sell goods to such shops. In other cases, especially in the case of a nonprofit shop, the public donates goods to these shops, commonly known as thrift stores in the United States, charity shops in the United Kingdom, or op shops in Australia and New Zealand. In give-away shops goods can be taken for free. In antique shops, the public can find goods that are older and harder to find. Sometimes people are broke and borrow money from a pawn shop using an item of value as collateral. College students are known to resell books back through college textbook bookstores. Old used items are often distributed through surplus stores.Various types of retail stores that specialize in the selling of goods related to a theme include bookstores, boutiques, candy shops, liquor stores, gift shops, hardware stores, hobby stores, pet stores, pharmacies, sex shops and supermarkets.Other stores such as big-box stores, hypermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, general stores, dollar stores sell a wider variety of products not horizontally related to each other.Home shoppingMain article: Home shoppingHome mail delivery systems and modern technology (such as television, telephones, and the Internet), in combination with electronic commerce, allow consumers to shop from home. There are three main types of home shopping: mail or telephone ordering from catalogs; telephone ordering in response to advertisements in print and electronic media (such as periodicals, TV and radio); and online shopping. Online shopping has completely redefined the way people make their buying decisions; the Internet provides access to a lot of information about a particular product, which can be looked at, evaluated, and comparison-priced at any given time. Online shopping allows the buyer to save the time and expense, which would have been spent traveling to the store or mall. According to technology and research firm Forrester, mobile purchases or mcommerce will account for 49% of ecommerce, or $252 billion in sales, by 2020[14]Neighborhood shoppingConvenience stores are common in North America, and are often called "bodegas" in Spanish-speaking communities or "dépanneurs" in French-speaking ones. Sometimes peddlers and ice cream trucks pass through neighborhoods offering goods and services. Also, garage sales are a common form of second hand resale.Neighbourhood shopping areas and retailers give value to a community by providing various social and community services (like a library), and a social place to meet. Neighbourhood retailing differs from other types of retailers such as destination retailers because of the difference in offered products and services, location and popularity.[15] Neighbourhood retailers include stores such as; Food shops/marts, dairies, Pharmacies, Dry cleaners, Hairdressers/barbers, Bottle shops, Cafés and take-away shops . Destination retailers include stores such as; Gift shops, Antique shops, Pet groomers, Engravers, Tattoo parlour, Bicycle shops, Herbal dispensary clinics, Art galleries, Office Supplies and framers. The neighbourhood retailers sell essential goods and services to the residential area they are located in. There can be many groups of neighbourhood retailers in different areas of a region or city, but destination retailers are often part of shopping malls where the numbers of consumers is higher than that of a neighbourhood retail area. The destination retailers are becoming more prevalent as they can provide a community with more than the essentials, they offer an experience, and a wider scope of goods and services.Party shoppingThe party plan is a method of marketing products by hosting a social event, using the event to display and demonstrate the product or products to those gathered, and then to take orders for the products before the gathering ends.Shopping activityShopping seasonsShopping frenzies are periods of time where a burst of spending occurs, typically near holidays in the United States, with Christmas shopping being the biggest shopping spending season, starting as early as October and continuing until after Christmas.Some religions regard such spending seasons as being against their faith and dismiss the practice. Many contest the over-commercialization and the response by stores that downplay the shopping season often cited in the War on Christmas.The National Retail Federation (NRF) also highlights the importance of back-to-school shopping for retailers which comes second behind holiday shopping, when buyers often buy clothing and school supplies for their children.[16] In 2006, Americans spend over $17 billion on their children, according to a NRF survey.[citation needed]Seasonal shopping consists of buying the appropriate clothing for the particular season. In winter people bundle up in warm layers and coats to keep warm, while in summer people wear less clothing to stay cooler in the heat. Seasonal shopping now revolves a lot around holiday sales and buying more for less. Stores need to get rid of all of their previous seasonal clothing to make room for the new trends of the upcoming season.[17] The end-of-season sales usually last a few weeks with prices lowering further towards the closing of the sale. During sales items can be discounted from 10% up to as much as 50%, with the biggest reduction sales occurring at the end of the season. Holiday shopping periods are extending their sales further and further with holidays such as Black Friday becoming a month-long event stretching promotions across November . These days shopping doesn't stop once the mall closes, as people have more access to stores and their sales than ever before with the help of the internet and apps.[18] Today many people research their purchases online to find the cheapest and best deal with one third of all shopping searches on Google happen between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am.[19] Shoppers are now spending more time consulting different sources before making a final purchasing decision. Shoppers once used an average of five sources for information before making a purchase, but numbers have risen to as high as 12 sources in 2014.[20]Pricing and negotiationThe pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailers' cost. Another common technique is manufacturers suggested list pricing. This simply involves charging the amount suggested by the manufacturer and usually printed on the product by the manufacturer.In Western countries, retail prices can be referred to as psychological prices or odd prices: a little less than a round number, e.g. $6.95. In Chinese societies, prices are generally either a round number or sometimes some lucky number. This creates price points.Often, prices are fixed and price discrimination can lead to a bargaining situation often called haggling, a negotiation about the price. Economists see this as determining how the transaction's total economic surplus will be divided between consumers and producers. Neither party has a clear advantage because the threat of no sale exists, in which case the surplus would vanish for both.When shopping online, it can be more difficult to negotiate price given that you are not directly interacting with a sales person. Some consumers use price comparison websites to find the best price and/or to make a decision about who or where to buy from to save money."Window shopping"Women peer through a shop window on a rainy dayWindow shopping in the rain"Window shopping" is a term referring to the browsing of goods by a consumer with no intent to purchase, either as a recreational activity or to plan a later purchase.Showrooming, the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick and mortar retail store without purchasing it, but then shopping online to find a lower price for the same item, has become an increasingly prevalent problem for traditional retailers as a result of online competitors, so much so that some have begun to take measures to combat it.[21