The Dread Slender Gnome on Nostr: I think right to free association/gathering has to be the prime reason for allowing ...
I think right to free association/gathering has to be the prime reason for allowing single-sex spaces. While safety is important and should not be compromised, not grounding single-sex spaces in basic rights means relinquishing some of those rights.
In order for women to have full freedom to gather, they must have the freedom to gather in groups of their own choosing. That means they must be allowed to NOT allow people in their gatherings, whom they don’t want there.
If women don’t have the right to not associate with someone, they don’t have full freedom of association. Saying that only safety is good enough reason for allowing women-only spaces means putting limits on women’s freedom of association, and ultimately subjecting women to scrutiny over whether their reasons are good enough. Saying that one has the right to do X, but only if one has a good enough reason, means one does not in fact fully have that right.
One could of course argue, that full freedom of association for people should not exist in general. But then that should be argued for explicitly, not smuggled in through the back door.
In order for women to have full freedom to gather, they must have the freedom to gather in groups of their own choosing. That means they must be allowed to NOT allow people in their gatherings, whom they don’t want there.
If women don’t have the right to not associate with someone, they don’t have full freedom of association. Saying that only safety is good enough reason for allowing women-only spaces means putting limits on women’s freedom of association, and ultimately subjecting women to scrutiny over whether their reasons are good enough. Saying that one has the right to do X, but only if one has a good enough reason, means one does not in fact fully have that right.
One could of course argue, that full freedom of association for people should not exist in general. But then that should be argued for explicitly, not smuggled in through the back door.