Introducing Trigger Warnings
UPDATE: user raincomplex has coded a
Greasemonkey script available here
that users with the Greasemonkey browser extension can use to make
trigger warnings on E2 more effective. It replaces potentially
triggering writeups with a warning that allows users to opt in or out of
viewing their text. Thank you, raincomplex!
Hi, y'all. I have a new project to tell you about. Today I created two categories.
If you're not sure what a trigger warnings are, the Geek Feminism
Wiki has a good
explanation.
PTSD is real and its effects
aren't something sufferers can just get over.
Trigger
warnings help some survivors of abuse who suffer from PTSD avoid
post-traumatic flashbacks, so implementing them here on Everything2 is
important to me. Survivors get to decide for themselves whether they
want to read something that might bring back memories of their abuse. Not
all survivors of abuse want or need trigger warnings, but for those who
do they make a big difference.
What do these categories do?
These are normal categories and have no special functionality. For the time being, their impact is going to be pretty minimal. Categories are listed at the end
of a writeup in the footer, so abuse survivors are going to need to
preemptively check there if they want to know whether or not a writeup
has content they'd rather avoid.
Either way, these categories won't
affect you unless you want them to. This isn't censorship and having
your work in a category like this isn't an indictment. In online communities where there are a number of survivors, it is typical to attach a trigger warning to even your own testimonials.
So just to be perfectly clear: trigger warnings are not meant to single out only content that promotes or normalizes harmful behavior, but rather any content at all that has the strong potential to trigger a post-traumatic flashback. If something you wrote appears in one of these categories, there's a good chance it wasn't offensive, harmful or wrong at all. Just potentially triggering. The message isn't "Hey! This noder likes rape!", it's "Hey, if you have PTSD-related issues with reading about rape in any context, maybe avoid this writeup."
What's up with the acronyms?
CSA
stands for child sexual abuse. SA stands for sexual abuse. Abuse
survivors who appreciate trigger warnings are typically familiar with
these acronyms.
Will there be more Trigger Warning categories?
Very possibly. I began with just these two because I'm implementing this
project on a trial basis and I thought they would be a relatively uncontroversial starting point. I would like to be clear about the fact that I do not think sexual assault survivors with PTSD are weaker
or less likely to make a recovery than others affected by the disorder. PTSD can be triggered by a wide variety of
things, some of them not obvious, and it's not only victims of sexual
abuse that suffer from it.
If things work out and there is enough
interest, I'd like to expand the project to categorize content that pertains to disordered eating, self-harm and domestic violence. Those are by no means the only possibilities and if you feel
strongly about categorizing other triggering content, please message me.
I want to help!
If
you see a writeup that depicts sexual abuse or
child sexual abuse, /msg me and I will add it to the appropriate
category if it looks like it ought to go there. You can use the Full Text Search if you'd like to be more proactive in identifying triggering content.
If you support this project but would rather not out yourself, or don't have a registered account, feel free use the I like it! button visible to Guest User.
I do not like this idea!
If your work is placed in one of these categories and you strongly object to it being there, please
/msg Aerobe and I'll remove your writeup.
If you think the
whole idea is stupid, and some of you will, you're welcome to just
ignore the whole thing. I have become fairly active in social justice
and feminist circles and
I've met a lot of people for whom these warnings are helpful.
Feel free to message me to tell me your views in private or to express them more publicly here. This is a new project and nothing is set in stone. Let's discuss.