on safe space and slam

[succulentpoet]

This is for anyone who is a poet, runs a venue, or attends poetry slams semi-regularly: do you have any guidelines about maintaining the slam as a safe space?

In any open forum, there is the capacity for sexism, racism, homophobia; for oppression; for threats; etc. And while freedom of speech is paramount to the success of slam, it can also be a

Comments

[beeblefish]

Points taken, and thank you. My point about safe spaces is, though, personal to me. What I consider a safe space is somewhere where I can express anger, frustration, and feelings of having my arguments dismissed. It's also partially about the space that I feel gets taken up by politeness. Politeness, though I value it, is also a form of control. And anger is not welcome in polite spaces. Which is why I don't feel I can express myself that way, here. Which is why I don't feel I can express myself, here. Right now, I'm not angry, so I can say a bit more, but knowing that if I'm really upset by something I can't say it means it's not a safe space for me.

I appreciate our attempt to mend bridges, I really do, but there is a politics to the expression of anger as well, and as the threads accumulate with passive aggressive slights at Lisa's original post, and as my overtly aggressive responses (partially more overt because they are less in line with commonly accepted 'truths' like racism and sexism are either solved problems (because we have equality now, right?)) it's clear that this is a space where my anger isn't valued, while the anger I cause is problematic. It makes me sad too, if that's anything.

But you are right that I shouldn't have assumed your reaction was out of ignorance, so for that I'm sorry, it's just that, well, a lot of masculinist posturing really is an fairly ignorant attack on feminist principals. So please take my own counter-posturing for a habitual reaction.