Alison Vingiano from Buzzfeed traces the history of trigger warnings in the feminist and social justice blogosphere. It's a long article, but worth the read for anyone involved that world, no matter how marginally.
Unless I'm linking to particularly graphic descriptions or rape or violence, I don't use them. I think this is practical. As it is, I don't usually write about things that could be possibly triggering (at least not on my blog), so it's a non-issue with me. But I'm not really a fan of them, especially when the slightest mention of injustice could be a trigger for someone. I'm a big believer in taking control of one chooses to read, and if the article's content is clearly stated in the title, trigger warnings should be unnecessary.
Thanks for the link. I generally stay away from Shakesville and other sites that I think are run with too heavy a hand. I am a strong supporter of academic and artistic freedom. I also think that the world inherently has a potential to be unsafe, and there is little that we can do about that. We can't live life in a bubble, although I know some people who try.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I try not to be (too much of) an asshole about this stuff because I understand very well how fortunate I am. There are things I read or see that bother me, but I don't suffer from PTSD and I don't have severe reactions even to things I find disturbing. So I don't know what it's like to live with PTSD or anything that can be provoked by unexpected encounters. I try to be understanding.
What I hope is that people who suffer from PTSD and other conditions get help. Because there is help. Approaches such as cognitive-behavioural therapy and EMDR work. I understand that some trauma is very deeply rooted and very difficult to treat. I just hope that people try -- and that there are no barriers to treatment (which unfortunately I know there are, often money). Even though the world can be unsafe, I want people to be able to live without fear.