We at Heat Street pride ourselves on cultivating a platform with “no safe spaces.”
If you are not familiar with the term, this doesn’t mean we don’t believe in safety. We are definitely pro seat belts, don’t support toddlers riding roller coasters, and love the buddy system. However, what we undeniably value is free speech — and safe spaces do not encourage free speech.
Historically, safe spaces were not intended to impede on the First Amendment rights enjoyed by all Americans. That has changed more recently.
When they first emerged, safe spaces were generally viewed as places where individuals could express themselves freely, without fear of being ostracized for any self-identifying traits such as their sexual orientation, race, gender, and religious affiliation. Feminist writer Roxane Gay described them as “a haven from the harsh realities people face in their everyday lives.”
That all sounds great. Who could have a problem with that? An individual retreats to a place where he or she feels comfortable. No one bothers them and they aren’t bothering anyone else.
According to activist Moira Kenney, the idea of a safe space emerged from gay and lesbian bars in the mid-1960s. Although anti-sodomy laws still existed in many places, gays and lesbians were considered ‘safe’ from those laws in the bars and were free to express their sexuality openly. Kenney says the term also was used in the 1970s by women who were searching for a refuge from patriarchy and misogynistic thought.
Vaughan Bell, a British clinical physiologist offers a different take on the development of safe spaces. Bell believes they instead originated in corporate America about 25 years earlier, and credits physiologist Kurt Lewin for introducing them. Lewin invented the notion of sensitivity training, which encourages individuals to speak openly without fear of judgement. This basic idea of judgment-free zones is precisely what safe spaces emphasize.
Nowadays, safe spaces are most commonly associated with college campuses. Although intended to create an atmosphere where marginalized groups can come together in a protected environment, some argue that they actually inhibit free speech. The managers of safe spaces, as well as their participants, tend to discourage people from saying things that others may find offensive, thereby limiting an individual’s freedom of expression.
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, in an address to University of Michigan in the spring of 2016, criticized the proliferation of safe spaces on campuses across the United States. “The fact that some university boards and administrations now bow to pressure and shield students from these ideas through safe spaces…is, in my view, a terrible mistake,” he said.
The comments were greeted with a wave of boos from the audience.
Michigan is only one of many schools to be criticized for mollycoddling students. Bloomberg is not the only individual to be branded a hater for speaking out against these safe zones, and he most certainly will not be the last. Their origins may be a bit muddy, but safe spaces are leaving an undeniable mark in today’s culture war narrative. Whether they are as welcoming as they promise will be debated for some time.
