safe space

See also: Safe Space

English

Noun

safe space (plural safe spaces)

1. (sociology) A place or domain serving as a tolerant environment for people (especially a marginalized group) where they do not face harassment, criticism, scrutiny, etc.; especially one in which participants are understood to share a given political or social viewpoint. [from 20th c.]

   Hyponyms: cry room, crying room

   Coordinate terms: safer space, positive space

   • 1983 December 24, Nancy Reiko, Midge Ward, Nellie Wong, Merle Woo, Emily Woo Yamasaki, “Lesbians Of Color”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 23, page 4:

     Lesbians at this conference often referred to the search for the sacred "safe space" where we are all the same. This is an avoidance of confrontation in our communities, in society. Separation is a retreat which only a privileged few can enjoy. Real safety will come by uniting with all our allies to defeat the right wing, capitalism and the patriarchy.

   • 2016, Alexander Dhoest, Lukasz Szulc, Bart Eeckhout, LGBTQs, Media and Culture in Europe, page 166:

     This confirms the claim that the internet is not an entirely safe space, and while blogs offer LGBTQs the opportunity to express their views freely and anonymously, they grant this possibility to haters and homophobes, too […]

   • 2017, John Palfrey, Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces: Diversity and Free Expression in Education, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 21:

     Ideally, these safe spaces would also be environments in which students would find support, develop coping skills, and hone effective techniques for communicating with one another in a way that honors tolerance, avoids stereotypes, and cuts down on hate on campuses.

   • 2022 November 10, Adam Gabbatt, “Has ‘Trumpty Dumpty’ taken a great fall from Rupert Murdoch’s grace?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Even Fox News, once Trump’s safe space, the TV network where he would often just call in for a chat, seems to have officially moved on.

   • 2023 March 14, Caryn James, “John Wick: Chapter 4: 'Soars above most action films'”, in BBC‎^[2]:

     The plot picks up where the last film left off. The High Table, the organisation that controls crime around the world, has a multi-million-dollar contract out on Wick, who killed a High Table member. In more familiar Mafia terms, it's as if he murdered a made man. And he violated another rule by doing it on the grounds of a Continental hotel, the supposed safe spaces for assassins around the world.

Translations

place serving as a tolerant environment

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: safe space f
• Finnish: turvallinen tila
• French: espace sûr (fr) m
• German: Safe Space (de) m, Schutzraum (de) m
• Russian: безопасное пространство (bezopasnoje prostranstvo)

Further reading

• safe space on Wikipedia.Wikipedia