by Christina B. Hanhardt
about Christina B. Hanhardt
Christina B. Hanhardt is Associate Professor of American Studies at University of Maryland, College Park. She is the author of Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence.
Safe
The word _safe_ is both a noun and an adjective. As a noun, the word names an object, a locked box, often containing valuables; as an adjective, it describes the property of a subject or object, its value being a condition or a feeling. Like many affective attributes, to be _safe_ is relational, and often defined by what it is not: one is _safe from_ a specific harm or makes a _safe_ choice rather than a risky bet. In this way, the word _safe_ can index something fixed in place (have you ever tried to lift a safe?) or difficult to pin down (feelings are often undermined by their lack of surety). But insofar as the word suggests a desired good, it offers a helpful vantage point to analyze aspirational ideals that respond to danger, uncertainty, and inequality. The word _safe_ is often attached to locations, from safe houses to safe neighborhoods to safe spaces. The concept of _safe spaces_ has been polarizing in recent years, especially on college campuses and in the press coverage of them, where they are most associated with the use of trigger warnings on syllabi (statements warning of disturbing images or text, especially of sexual...
Safe
feature
Keywords
Now:
Pandemic
**For a limited time, read the full keyword essay on ["Safe"](/american-cultural-studies/essay/safe/)** ~~"I hope this email finds you well."~~ I'm not sure why I ever assumed that I would find anyone I emailed well, but it was not long into the COVID19 pandemic that it became clear to me -- [as well as many others](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/smarter-living/coronavirus-how-to-write-better-emails.html) -- that this opening line would need rest or revision. Although I stuck with the sign off, "Take care," which felt a bit more compassionate than "Best," many others increasingly would close email messages or otherwise bid adieu with the phrases "Be safe," or "[Stay safe](https://time.com/5827280/stay-safe-emailing-during-coronavirus-pandemic/)." During the height of lockdown and since, the latter entreaty also became the catchphrase of public health agencies, from the [Center for Disease Control](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/easy-to-read/prevent-getting-sick/stay-safe.html) to [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services](https://www.acf.hhs.gov/helpful-resources-covid-19), and was also used to signal other associated risk management protocols, be they the U.S. Department of Justice's warnings about new [on-line threats to children](https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/keeping-children-safe-online) or Interpol's [#StaySafe](https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/COVID-19/COVID-19-Stay-Safe) campaign that highlighted cybersecurity and medical fraud. The American Hotel & Lodging Association would also invert the words, shifting the verb of personal action into the modified noun of a pledged product: [Safe Stay™](https://www.ahla.com/safestay). Of course, the call for...