I often see the topic of safe spaces set up for women, the lgbtq community, and men being discussed here and I think there is a point or two being missed or slipping peoples' minds.

I know when I was younger and even today I have a knee-jerk reaction to think that any place that limits entrance based on anything is offensive and exclusionary. It's easy to react to safe spaces in that way but their intent isn't to exclude people but to bring them together.

Feminism exists because there are problems that pertain almost exclusively to females and the same goes for almost every special interest group, including men's rights. Everyone can relate to telling a friend about a personal problem and having them being completely perplexed because they simple did not have the same experience/circumstance as you. Safe Spaces exists so people from similar backgrounds can share freely without worrying about being scrutinized by those who don't understand and don't try to empathize.

I've seen lots of articles on this subreddit about male safe spaces being shut down/prevented but in many of these cases the driving force behind the creation of the group was an over reaction to a safe space set up for women, not with compassionate and educational intents that many other safe spaces are set up with.

At my school there are more than one male focused group. They aren't set up as some kind of statement, they're set so men who feel uncomfortable talking about their problems have a place to go. There are problems men can have they might feel uncomfortable talking about around women and that's OK. Safe spaces when done right are meant to be places so people can discussion issues that relate to their background that others without that same experience might not understand. When done right they help foster community within the specific group and provide support to those in need. Also all the safe spaces I've encountered make sure to always set guidelines for discussion that encourage open discussion and make it easy for someone to politely say that a statement made is offensive to them. The best safe spaces are the ones where people truly feel safe agreeing to disagree.

Another thing to consider is that many safe spaces are on college/university campuses. Safe spaces offer an innately inviting place for students who have trouble making new friends or feel that they are all alone because of who they are. Safe spaces offer an opportunity for many students to make friends when they may have been too afraid otherwise.

To sum it up: don't hate on safe spaces just for existing. Men's groups can exist and be accepted as long as they aren't just put in place as a political statement but set up as a place where men of all backgrounds can talk about issues pertaining to them. Safe spaces are not for discriminating but for bringing people together.