# Trigger Warnings and criticism **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528 "2012-05-30T08:55:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/1 "2012-05-30T08:55:23Z")
I noticed that in people’s blogs, particularly social justice type blogs, they will post trigger warnings. While this made sense at first, the trigger warning subject matter has gotten so obscure and niche it makes me wonder if people post some kinds of trigger warnings simply to deflect any criticism from their writing. I’ve heard you don’t neccessarily have to read something for it to trigger some bad memory- it could be some completely benign association. I think people are really overusing the hell out of trigger warnings and its bad when the terminology gets so obscure I have to start googling how some article/blog/fanfic is about to warp my fragile little mind 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/2 "2012-05-30T10:57:28Z")
I actually had to look up what “trigger warning” referred to. The only use I knew was “don’t put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot”. FWIW it seems to me that “social justice” type blogs might be the sort of places where folks get oh so concerned about being enlightened that such warnings may well be overused, but I’m hardly the target audience for blogs like that (no offense intended). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/3 "2012-05-30T11:23:15Z")
I still don’t understand what this thread is about. Anyone have any examples? ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/4 "2012-05-30T11:49:29Z")
If I’m thinking of the same thing, the only place I’ve seen these is on mental health message boards, blogs, and websites. They’re statements to warn people that the content of the post might contain something that will “trigger” negative feelings, thoughts or behaviors. For a sexual abuse survivor, for example, a triggering post might be a description of a child molestation case. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/5 "2012-05-30T12:27:39Z")
Some examples from posts on tumblr: [trigger warning: dream about incestuous sexual harassment, family dysfunction] [trigger warning: emotional abuse and coercion] [trigger warning: abuse, stalking, sexual abuse] [TW: rape] [TRIGGER WARNING: SELF INJURY] [trigger warning: consensual rape play, abduction play] [trigger warning: suicidal impulses and self-harm] [trigger warning: chubbychasing, fetishization of fat people] This kind of stuff is posted at the very top of messages/blog posts. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/6 "2012-05-30T13:40:14Z")
Reminds me of the old Usenet tradition, on the jokes pages, where it was permitted to post offensive (to somebody) jokes. But the post title commonly contained a warning like “(Offensive to elderly)” or “(Offensive to Italians)”, etc., so you’d know before opening it. Typically, such jokes were also rot-13’d. Do they still do that? (I haven’t looked much as Usenet for 20-some years now.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/7 "2012-05-30T13:45:09Z")
I’ve seen them posted for posts on eating disorders, too. They seem really prevalent on feminist blogs/sites – I know one that won’t even let people mention sizes (like weight/height, or clothing sizes) when commenting. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/8 "2012-05-30T13:46:36Z")
Offbeat Bride Tribe, \. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/9 "2012-05-30T14:46:35Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > . . . its bad when the terminology gets so obscure I have to start googling . . . Like some of us had to do, with “trigger warning” itself. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/10 "2012-05-30T22:57:33Z")
I’ve noticed them too. I’m curious if anyone actually follows them, or if they are just a way for people to broadcast their sensitivity. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/11 "2012-05-30T23:31:47Z")
Back when I was writing more fanfic, there was at least one person who had known triggers (I believe it was animal abuse). He didn’t write things with it and preferred not to read it. So we all warned for it if it came up. I don’t use the actual term ‘trigger warning’ but when I’m giving the rating I tell what it’s for (sometimes getting silly, like ‘homosexual sex, heterosexual sex, no sex’ in a porn). There’s nothing that really bothers me, but there are things I prefer not to read and I consider it polite to warn. ---
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/12 "2012-05-30T23:35:14Z")
It’s not about warning the reader that their feelings might be hurt. It’s about recognizing that they have an audience with a higher likelihood of having some traumatic experience. Yes, just reading about discussions of rape can trigger PTSD episodes in survivors. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/13 "2012-05-31T02:17:13Z")
I’ve always hated the term “trigger warning.” I’m not quite sure why, but I think somewhere along the line I feel like it suggests people _should_ be triggered. Almost like it isn’t okay for somebody to eventually cope with / move past / heal from their triggers. I always hear “Trigger warning: x y z” in my head in the same voice I’d hear the phrase, “Oh, you poor thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/14 "2012-05-31T02:42:54Z")
> [@Chipacabra](#): > > It’s not about warning the reader that their feelings might be hurt. It’s about recognizing that they have an audience with a higher likelihood of having some traumatic experience. Yes, just reading about discussions of rape can trigger PTSD episodes in survivors. But how do you decide what does and doesn’t get a trigger warning? For example, we don’t put trigger warnings on people talking about war, or on the news, but many people have PTSD from that. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/15 "2012-05-31T04:45:10Z")
I don’t use trigger warnings. I thought about it, and decided that, particularly as I don’t typically write about graphic bad things, I couldn’t reasonably make myself responsible for what someone does or does not get upset about when they read my writing. I have seen them, and respect them, on more directed blogs, like those devoted to recovering from some kind of psychological trauma or eating disorder. Those blogs are meant to be more of a ‘safe place for sharing’ than my general-purpose drivel. I do, however, try to make it clear what the post will be about in either the title or the first paragraph. It’s both good writing style, and a courtesy to people who I presume have much better ideas of what will upset them than I ever could. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/16 "2012-05-31T09:43:36Z")
The wonderful thing about Triggers Is Triggers are wonderful things… ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/17 "2012-05-31T11:31:27Z")
Generally speaking, I avoid writing that has trigger warnings of any kind. Not because I’m worried about being triggered; I just think anyone who puts in “trigger warnings” is probably not someone worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/18 "2012-05-31T11:47:48Z")
Trigger warnings are silly, because literally anything can be a trigger. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/19 "2012-05-31T14:00:09Z")
This is the first time I’ve ever been made aware of this concept. I find it to be rather silly. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528/20 "2012-05-31T14:12:21Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > The wonderful thing about Triggers > Is Triggers are wonderful things… > [@midnight-dreary](#): > > Trigger warnings are silly, because literally anything can be a trigger. And the most wonderful thing about triggers is anything is one yes…anything is one! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-and-criticism/623528.md?page=2)