Trigger Warnings workshopMeg John Barker, Ruth Deller, Caroline Walters(@megjohnbarker, @ruthdeller, @drcjwalters)

• Controversies, divisions and our own experiences of trigger warnings.

• Applying warnings to different types of content. • What kind of content could be 'triggering' and for whom?

Session outline

Splash screen on Tumblr

EastEnders advice page

Plebcomics

...it’s thrown around so much it easily becomes pointless and infantilizing...Don’t define a work solely by its most dramatic and upsetting elements,removing its context and giving it an automatically negative taint, because it’shard to approach a work with an open heart and mind when the mostimportant thing you know about it going in is that it’s going to be “triggering.”(Williams, Salon 2014)

... [P]art of what we as educators, parents and students have to recognize is thatclassroom spaces in which difficult topics like trauma, rape, war, race and sexuality arediscussed are already unsafe. When students of color who have endured racism haveto hear racially insensitive comments from other students who are in the process oflearning, the classroom is unsafe. The classroom is unsafe for trans students who areoften referred to by the wrong gender pronoun by both students and teachers. Theclassroom is unsafe for rape survivors who encounter students in the process oflearning why getting drunk at a party does not mean a woman deserves to be raped.But learning about these topics are all necessary forms of education. And triggerwarnings won’t solve or ameliorate the problems that open, frank, guided discussionby well-trained, competent instructors can... Overwhelmingly students let me know atthe end of each semester that though the discussions were hard, they are glad we hadthem. Trigger warnings might have scared these students away from participating indiscussions that they were absolutely capable of having. And in that regard they domore harm than good. So for the sake of my students, you won’t find them on mysyllabi. (Brittney Cooper, Salon 2014)

Trigger warnings have never been a way for people to avoid “uncomfortable”arguments; they’re a way for people posting content to have empathy fortrauma survivors who, without a proper warning, may be sent into adebilitating (and often embarrassing, if it’s in a public space) panic attack.(Ponta Abadi, MsBlog 2014)

I like trigger warnings. I like them because they’re not censorship, they’re theopposite of censorship. Censorship says “Read what we tell you”. The oppositeof censorship is “Read whatever you want”. The philosophy of censorship is“We know what is best for you to read”. The philosophy opposite censorship is“You are an adult and can make your own decisions about what to read”. Andpart of letting people make their own decisions is giving them relevantinformation and trusting them to know what to do with them. Uninformedchoices are worse choices. Trigger warnings are an attempt to provide youwith the information to make good free choices of reading material. (ScottAlexander, Slate Star Codex, 2014)

BBFC guidelines

It is important that the BBFC’s classification standards are in line with what the publicexpects and that its decisions take account of what the public finds acceptable at each agecategory. Therefore every 4-5 years, the BBFC carries out a major public consultationexercise to find out what the public thinks about the age rating of films and videos beforethey are released and whether the BBFC’s classification standards meet public concerns...

There are two key principles, laid out in the Guidelines, under which we operate:• to protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise

unsuitable content• to empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibility for children,

to make informed viewing decisions.

• Where have you seen trigger (and/or content) warnings applied?• What kind of things have been listed in these warnings?• What is your experience of using trigger (or content) warnings (either as a

creator/publisher or as a reader/user)?• What functions do you think such warnings have?• Are there types of content you have seen that didn't have warnings, but you

think should have?• Is there (or should there be) a difference in warning about harm and about

offence? How do we distinguish between the two?

Your starters for ten...

• What kinds of material should receive content or triggerwarnings?

• What forms should such warnings take?• How should any warnings be applied and enforced?

Films and DVDs/Blu-Rays Online video sites (e.g. YouTube, Vine) Onlineimages and image sites (e.g. Instagram, Flickr) Books (fiction, non-fiction, art, poetry, graphic novels...) Theatre, dance or opera Gigs orlive music concerts CD, download or streaming music Stand-upcomedy Radio Podcasts Art and/or sculpture Political materialAcademic or professional conferences Taught curriculum: (in schools,in colleges/universities, in professional contexts) Television content: a)on TV, b) via online catch-up services Online fiction Video games Boardgames or toys Blogs Advertisements News media (TV, radio, print,online) Magazines Religious material Other....?

Types of warning; types of material

• Are there particular contexts where youmight expect warnings? (e.g. material with aparticular audience etc)

• Are there certain topics that should comewith a trigger or content warning? Why?

• What are the responsibilities of contentcreators towards their audience?

• What are the responsibilities of audiences?• If we don't use trigger or content warnings,

what other approaches could be taken (ifany) to avoid potential harm?

Who, what, when, where, why, how?