Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

How I came to believe the answer is YES.

The use of a trigger warning for Wicked (2024) has recently triggered a debate around whether these warnings are needed or not. Many were up in arms, decrying the warning for discrimination against green-skinned people and cruelty to fantasy animals. Many countered that given the strong subtext of racism, ableism, and animal cruelty in the movie, those who have experienced related trauma deserved a content warning. But what is a trigger warning exactly?

A trigger warning is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “a statement at the beginning of a piece of writing, before the start of a film, etc., warning people that they may find the content very upsetting, especially if they have experienced something similar.”

A content warning is essentially the same concept but where the content itself may not be triggering per se but may give an indication of the level of violence, sex, problematic themes, etc.

My own thoughts about warnings have substantially changed because of my writing in fandom.

When I first started reading fanfiction back in the early 2000s, trigger or content warnings were not a thing across mainstream books, movies, and TV content. The exception was the ‘flashing lights’ warnings that accompanied TV shows and movies to ensure people with physical conditions triggered by the lights could avoid them. Movie certifications such as PG13 or R-rated did provide a general guide to the level of violence and sex, whereas similarly adult content was restricted on TV to after the watershed. Occasionally, a movie or show shown on TV would have the voiceover at the beginning that ‘viewers may find some of the content disturbing.’ In writing, fiction genres provided a general guide to the content with both horror and thrillers sometimes exploring very gruesome violence, while romance and erotica speak for themselves. I cannot remember reading any book where there was a content warning, or a specific trigger warning included. If someone had undergone a trauma where they had PTSD, the only safe way to discover if material was likely to be triggering was to have someone else watch the show/movie or read the book to advise them.

Mainstream attitudes towards trigger warnings seemed to be replicated in online fandom spaces. Certainly, there were few content or trigger warnings on the stories that I read. The site did have a ratings system (and still does!) requiring the author to tag their stories from ‘K’ which was essentially child friendly, up to M for mature themes suitable for adults only (but not very explicit violence or sexual content). Few authors warned for anything in notes at the beginning of stories, except for sexual content or weirdly in retrospect, homosexuality.   

With this as the standard practice, when I started posting fanfiction in 2005, my early stories were posted without content warnings and simply used the rating system. While I did not know or use the terms back then, I did keep my stories consistent with canon-level violence and themes. My reasoning at the time was that anyone who had watched the show would likely be comfortable with that content, and any reader was likely to be someone who had watched the show.

As I spent more time in fandom spaces and shifted to livejournal as a place for reading and posting fanfiction, I came across authors who did provide warnings. I noted it with interest, but I wasn’t especially motivated to alter my own very mainstream approach – after all, books, TV and movies did not provide such warnings, and didn’t warning simply provide spoilers for the story?  However, as I shifted to posting on AO3 which did use author warnings for rape/non-con, major character death, graphic violence and underage sex, I began to consider warnings much more as something which should be included. This coincided with participating in a few fanfiction challenges which required clear trigger warnings.

I began to change my opinion especially after reading meta about trigger and content warnings in fandom spaces. As I heard of some of the stories from people who had been triggered into trauma responses by fanfiction, I began reconsidering my own position. In the mainstream, mental health and the importance of good mental health were also beginning to be discussed more openly. While content warnings do carry the risk of spoiling aspects of the story, wasn’t it kinder and more inclusive – values which are dear to me – to provide them for those who might be triggered? I began to use content warnings as a matter of course in my new postings.  

Then, I had an incident at work which changed my opinion completely about it. The Racial Equality advocacy group had sent a letter to the CEO asking for more to be done as some members had complained about facing microaggressions and other racially problematic language. The CEO chose to begin a normally scheduled town hall with the letter without any warning. I was triggered.

As a mixed-race disabled woman, I had felt incredibly safe at work – until this letter was read aloud. I had not experienced any microaggressions or racially problematic language myself, but I suddenly did not feel safe. That night I experienced flashbacks to racial trauma – a brick being thrown through our living room window by a racist neighbour, being chased down an alleyway after school by thugs wanting to beat me up because I was coloured. It took me months and trauma counselling to feel safe again at work.

As with all things, when you experience it yourself, it drives the point home in a way like no other.

Since then, I’ve used content warnings extensively. When I transferred my early writing to this website I tried to make sure I was including warnings here for earlier works which did not have them in their original posts. When I publish my novel, there will be a content warning at the beginning of the book. Recently I submitted a story to a competition and felt very uncomfortable that the format rules for entry did not allow for a content warning.

Of course, every author and content creator has to make the choice for themselves. I can see the other side of the argument that content warnings spoil elements of the story; that warnings can seem to be condescending in some ways especially for adults; that warning for people belittling people with green skin or cruelty to fantasy animals seems, on the face of it, ridiculous (although I rather think had they warned for racist themes and allusions to animal cruelty without reference to green skin and animals of a fantastical nature, they may not have faced such a storm of criticism).

Hearing the debate on a TV show in the UK over the Wicked warning, I found myself though nodding along when someone pointed out that it doesn’t harm anyone who doesn’t see the point of it and who isn’t triggered for the warning to be there. They can skip it. But for those who may be harmed, it is a useful check which allows them to make a fully informed decision on whether they want to risk watching or reading.

At the end of the day, I always want people to enjoy my writing, and I would rather they skipped a story which risked triggering them than read it and face a panic attack, flashbacks, or other symptoms of trauma related anxiety. I’m not claiming that my content warnings are fully comprehensive because triggers are individual, but I am committed to always make my best attempt. For me, kindness and inclusion remain the key principles of why I warn and why I will answer ‘yes’ when asked if content warnings are necessary.

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