Content Warnings

In September of 2016, the New York Times Opinion Section published a “debate” about trigger warnings between Elana Newman, the R. M. McFarlin professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa, the research director at the Dartmouth Center for Journalism and Trauma and the co-director of the Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice, Richard McNally, a professor of psychology and the Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, and the author of Remembering Trauma, and Sofie Karasek, the Director of Education and co-founder of End Rape On Campus. Dr. McNally asserted that trigger warnings coddled students who were accustomed to being coddled by their helicopter parents and further, trigger warnings were counter-therapeutic as they communicated that students should avoid material that reminded them of upsetting events. Dr. Newman argued that trigger warnings seemed like the right thing to do, a sign of respect and transparency that allowed all students to participate in her courses. Sofie Karasek shared that after being raped in her Harvard dormitory, she needed support and sensitivity. Trigger warnings empowered her to take on difficult material in ways that supported her well being. She cited her anthropology class on political violence, a class in which her professor’s trigger warnings allowed her to excel.

Students nationwide advocated for trigger warnings from their professors to allow them to tackle their course material in a way that would be managable. They were not advocating to have the syllabus adjusted for them but instead suggested that the warning made it possible for all students to participate in classes with challenging material.

These warnings were initially called “trigger warning”. This language implied that people with mental health conditions, specifically PTSD, needed a warning of distressing content. Currently we use content warning. The content warning allows people with life experiences that make certain material challenging the opportunity to evaluate how and whether to proceed. Given the chance to prepare for certain themes and stories make it more likely that people, through self care or using their coping strategies, are able to participate in the conversation. Content warnings do not assume emotional fragility of the audience.

It has become a common practice in the last few years for writers to offer a content warning at the beginning of their book. Stephanie Foo in What My Bones Know, begins her book with an author’s note:

“For my fellow complex PTSD darlings: I know that trauma books can be triggering and painful to read. I’ve struggled through a number of them myself. But I felt that it was necessary for me to share my abusive childhood in order for the reader to understand where I’m coming from. Part I of this book might be tough for you, though I ask that you at least give it a shot. But I won’t judge you if, at any point, you need to skip ahead a few pages. And I’d like to promise you this, even if it is a bit of a spoiler: This book has a happy ending.”

Because of my history of child abuse and sexual assault, I chose not to expose myself to stories about sexual violence early in my recovery.

The restorative justice work I facilitated with men who had caused sexual harm created a deeper sense of the offender’s humanity and decreased my fear. I found I no longer needed trigger warnings for sexual violence.

My children are mixed race. When they were little, I saw people treating them in a denigrating and dehumanizing way. It was hard not to become subsumed with terror about my children’s safety. My fear is still palpable but the activist in me now values the act of witnessing.

I avoid scary movies and books but during the “anger” part of my recovery I watched every horror movie and read every book Stephen King wrote. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is the only King book I read now.

Do you use content warnings? Are there warnings that you appreciate? How do you prepare to engage with challenging material if given a content warning?