Conference Safetyism Veto

Updated: 2025.08.21 6M ago 2 sources
When professional societies label venues or attendees 'unsafe,' they can veto academic conferences based on identity-linked allegations rather than act-based due process, turning 'safety' into a gatekeeping tool. — This reshapes academic freedom, participation, and public trust in science by normalizing safety rhetoric as a de facto barrier to hosting, speaking, and debate across scholarly fields.

Sources

Art should trigger you
Kathleen Stock 2025.08.21 50% relevant
Both describe 'safety' rhetoric as a gatekeeping tool: in academia it can block conferences; in theatre, proliferating content warnings and 'self‑care' packs pre‑shape participation and sanitize transgressive art under the banner of mental health.
Integrity, Safety, & Conference Venues
Rob Kurzban 2025.07.23 100% relevant
The article’s discussion of sexual-violence–framed objections to conference venues, alongside an action-vs-identity moral framework, exemplifies how 'safety' claims are used to govern who and where conferences can proceed.
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