Young Writers Society

*Disclaimer - this article does not describe "official YWS rules" about using Content Warnings, and none of the following should be taken as "official site rules," these guidelines are offered as suggestions.

INTRODUCTION

On YWS, while we do require works be rated appropriately (Content Rating Guidelines Here) we actually do not have a rule requiring that people use specific Content Warnings / Trigger Warnings on the people tab, blogs, written works, or elsewhere on the site. That being said, though content warnings aren't required, they can still serve as an important addition to our writings, discussions, posts, and interactions - not only on YWS, but anywhere that writing or communication is used.

Just like other technical writing techniques, we aren't just born knowing how to use content warnings, so this article will outline why content warnings are beneficial, how to use them, and some examples of the scope of their use.

Like many aspects of writing, while there seems to be some general standards about how content warnings are used, sometimes these vary and change across different contexts, so if you are writing outside of YWS and wondering how to use content warnings it may be best to consult the specific guidelines to your context (ie. teacher, boss, editor).

I also want to preface this article with saying I do not consider myself a mental health expert or professional, nor should anything I write be taken as professional mental health advice.

TERMS
In this article I use "Content Warnings" rather than "Trigger Warnings" because it is more general and doesn't assume that the reader will be "triggered" by the content, but just that it may be an intense topic that can evoke trauma or discomfort that they may desire to avoid. I prefer to call these "Content Warnings" because it is more inclusive and acknowledges their usefulness in a broader context. These are sometimes also called "Content Notes" or "Rating Guidelines" or "Content Guidelines".



WHY USE CONTENT WARNINGS

ANSWERS TO COMMON OBJECTIONS

HOW TO FORMAT & USE CONTENT WARNINGS

WHEN TO USE CONTENT WARNINGS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

WHY USE CONTENT WARNINGS?

So, if we're going to go through all the effort of adding something to our writing, there better be a reason! Here's a few reasons why I believe content warnings ought to be used, for full disclosure there is a considerable amount of controversy around whether they should or shouldn't be used in the academic and writing communities, so this might be something that you want to study multiple perspectives on to form you own opinion - this is my own perspective informed from being a YWS moderator for 6 years, working in school / education settings for 4 years, having taken a few college and graduate courses to do with diversity, inclusion, and mental illness, having had many friends who are survivors, and having experienced some level of trauma at a certain point in my life.

In today's world of diverse readers with diverse sensitivities and experiences, no person is going to be 100% comfortable reading every subject. That being said there are certain particular heavy topics that have high potential to evoke strong trauma responses (in some cases these may be referred to as "triggers") that can cause emotional, mental, and even physical harm to read. Sometimes the simple act of having a warning about the content they are about to encounter can give someone who has a had a negative experience with one of these heavy subjects the opportunity to do a self-check-in "am I in a state of mind / setting where I can safely read this, or do I desire to skip this" they may also be able to choose to utilize or remember coping or grounding techniques before engaging the material, or just choose to skip if it's going to cause a negative response. Undergoing trauma is never something a person has chosen to experience, so allowing that survivor to choose what they experience in regards to that subject going forward, gives a choice back to them, re-affirming their autonomy. More information on understanding triggers

There are also subjects that an author may want to freely write about, that may be too mature for a younger audience to engage with. By offering a content warning, they offer an opportunity for a young person or parent to opt out of reading if they would prefer to.

And in addition to people that have experienced trauma, have PTSD, or are younger, there are also people who may simply prefer not to read about certain subjects. This may be due to having had experience with that subject, being in a setting where they would prefer not to read about that subject, having moral or religious objections to reading about certain subjects, or just having made a choice to not engage with that subject for the time-being.

For all of these readers, using a content warning is an act of compassion and sensitivity in midst of a world that often is not gentle.

I believe using content warnings also allows for an element of consent within reading. While we can never 100% control the types of media, experiences, and input that are present in the world in front of us - as much as it is feasible, we should be given the opportunity to provide consent to (or opt out of) receiving content or experiences that are sexual, traumatic, or particularly heavy. For example, I would prefer not to be sent explicit photos and would find it highly offensive and a breach of my consent to receive such communication, in the same way I would prefer not to stumble upon explicit writing without choosing to engage with that type of subject. By offering a content warning, authors help readers avoid stumbling into reading something they would prefer not to within their writing. The author puts the control back into the reader's hands of what media they choose to consume.

While not a primary motivation, authors may even find that people review work more favorably if they have not been unexpectedly traumatized by reading it. When a reader encounters a content warning, that communicates that the author has respect and compassion for their readers and takes these subjects seriously - which many readers may appreciate.

I want to share a personal anecdote that changed how I engage with serious topics in my written work because I think it will help make this point. Please note the content warning below is for the example under the spoiler.

CW // example uses depiction of trauma response to description of self-harm, mention of suicidal attempt

ANSWERS TO COMMON OBJECTIONS

Censorship
Some people critique content warnings as a hindrance to free speech or as censorship - but I believe it actually protects our speech more, because we can more safely and openly speak about serious subjects when content warnings are used, without the fear that they will cause someone undo trauma. Importantly, Content Warnings aren't a judgement that the content is inappropriate or has to be handled gently - it merely warns the reader that the content is present.

I strongly believe that content warnings shouldn't be required - but that they are something that are generally beneficial.

I also think sometimes discourse around content and trigger warnings have sometimes prompted some unhelpful extreme censoring of language that is unhelpful. I am not arguing that "heavy words" ought to be removed from writing (ie. the words "kill' / "gun" / "shoot" / "smoking" etc.) but that when extended depictions of heavy subjects are used a content warning is appropriate. To remove specific words from our lexicon or regular use, doesn't seem like it stands to benefit survivors of trauma, but might limit their opportunity to discuss their trauma.

Disputed Effectiveness of Content Warnings
I have read that some mental health professional dispute the long-term benefits of content warnings given that they may re-enforce avoidance behaviors in people who have experienced trauma as well as treat the survivor as vulnerable rather than resilient. That being said, I believe content warnings give the choice to engage with that material back to the reader and empowers them to make a choice about their mental health. There are also reasons beyond that experiencing PTSD that a person may not want to engage with certain subjects, and it should be up to them to make that choice for their comfort and well-being where it is possible.

Life contains no content warnings!
A very common response in attacking content warnings is that life has no content warning - while that is true, just because something hard is present in life doesn't mean that we should try to create more of it. Just because poverty exists in the world, doesn't mean we should try to make more people poor, or steal from each other. We each have the responsibility to take care of our own health, well-being, and expression. And within that freedom and responsibility we also each have the opportunity to extend kindness. Just because the world is heavy, doesn't mean we need to make it unnecessarily more heavy. You can still engage with dialogue about tough subjects, while employing content warnings to help those who would benefit from them.

Spoilers
Sometimes the use of a content warning can "spoil" the plot (ie. recently a content warning for suicide was used for a Romeo and Juliet production) - in these cases one might employ a more general content warning or maybe just that the content may be triggering for some readers.

HOW TO FORMAT & USE CONTENT WARNINGS

Be Succinct and Clear
To format your content warning, make sure it is at the top of the written work, scene, or post where a reader will encounter it before they engage with the work. If the content is limited to a particular area of your work, (ie. one chapter, or one paragraph) you might choose to limit your content warnings to those sections and clarify in your content warning where the content is located so a reader could skip over that section if they wanted to avoid that content. You may desire to make it bold to draw attention to it, but there's no need to make the formatting over the top. A fairly standard way of formatting would be either of the following: the letters "CW" or word "Content Warning" followed by two slashes or a colon, then the words that indicate what sensitive content your work includes. It is appropriate to be brief, though there may be certain situations where you choose to uses more than a couple words.

examples:

CW // violence, swearing

Content Warning // violence, swearing

CW // work includes violence and swearing

CW // following paragraph includes graphic violence and brief swearing

Do not be graphic within your CW description
It is very important to not make the warning itself so detailed that it goes into the content that the reader may try to be avoiding, that defeats the whole purpose of the warning. The key is hitting a balance of being specific, but not graphic. When in doubt, I'd say it's better to be general than invoke trauma with your description. Do not describe or name intimate or private body parts within content warnings and refrain from using swear words, slurs, or going into details about violent or sexual situations.

example of the right type of specificity
(CW // example under spoiler uses violent description, death, suicide)

You shouldn't be using language in content warnings that need to be censored with content warnings (ie. bodily anatomy, swears, slurs, names of sex-acts or graphic language).

You can indicate area or amount of specific content
Sometimes it could be helpful to give a brief indication to how much the sensitive content is engaged with too - I will provide some example phrasings. You don't need to write a whole paragraph about the level the work engages with the subject, just a brief sentence or phrase will serve just fine. If you are using content warnings chapter by chapter, try to be consistent with how you use phrases and warnings so readers are more easily able to predict what you mean and more easily understand them (it also just looks more polished and professional if you keep things consistent).

examples of how to include information about how the work engages with the content

CW // brief mention of blood"

"CW // implied sex"

"CW // explicit descriptions of sex throughout"

"CW // murder off the page"

"CW // graphic descriptions of violence throughout"

"CW // brief violence scene"

Be clear, avoid abbreviations that may be unfamiliar
It is important that readers know what your content warning is referring to, or it takes away the whole point of the warning, so I would advise using the whole word rather than abbreviating or using a censor (for example "suicide" or "sexual assault" is how a content warning should typically be listed, rather than "s******" or "s*xual a*******" or "SA"). While many abbreviations may be considered known by most, they are not known by all, so better to just be specific. For instance the abbreviation "SH" in the context of a Content Warning might mean "Sexual Harassment" or "Self Harm" within a content warning, so to avoid confusion the full concise term is usually more appropriate, unless in a context when sure the readers will know what the abbreviation signifies. (ie. on YWS we use "V" for violence and "L" for language in our content ratings, so in this context, those abbreviations would be perfectly appropriate to use).

Considerations regarding titles
If the title (or context) of your work makes it clear that your work will engage with the subject, a content warning regarding that subject is likely not needed. For example, if the work is entitled "my experience with miscarriage" a person can assume that miscarriage will be discussed within the piece - so there may not be a need for a content warning there - if the language or descriptions are particularly in depth, or maybe also include a description of abuse or in-depth gore or surgery descriptions, you may still want to add a content warning - but a title is always a note about content in itself.

With this being said, as you think about giving titles to your work, while you may want to use words like "Murder" / "Eating Disorder" / "Suicide" and other words tied to heavy subjects, you may want to consider not using titles with vivid descriptions of these sorts of subjects because in a place like YWS a reader can not avoid reading a title. If you want to give a title that some readers may find particularly uncomfortable or triggering you may want to save that as a subtitle written within the work, but not its main tag in the lit center.

Content warnings are not a pass for mis-using serious subjects
Please keep in mind a content warning is not a "cover" or "pass" from misusing serious subjects. For example, just because a person uses a content warning for "slurs" at the beginning of an article, does not necessarily excuse them for using such slurs in discriminatory contexts - similarly using a content warning does not give you a pass for promoting violence, discrimination, or abuse.

WHEN TO USE CONTENT WARNINGS

Every type of written work and communication has the ability to offend someone in the world somewhere, however there are types of depictions that because of their seriousness and potential connection to triggers, trauma, and mental illness that may cause a particularly high level of harm to stumble upon reading them for certain people. Sometimes a work will briefly mention a subject like "depression" or "mental illness" but not dive deep into it or focus on it, in some of those cases, sometimes there may not be a need to use a content warning. There is a spectrum here of usefulness that people will need to determine for themselves.

There are actually examples when using a frivolous content warning for a non-serious subject, may communicate that you are equating that non-serious situation with a serious one - ie. if you used a content warning for "loud snoring" or "large dog" your readers may think you are making fun of content warnings or equating those subjects with suicide, eating disorders, and rape - which is obviously offensive. Misusing content warnings for light-hearted things while may be found humorous, satirical, or intriguing in some contexts runs the risk of trivializing trauma - if you are making a joke about your work including "ALL-CAPS" or "lots of commas" or something else trivial, please use the term "Content Warning" rather than "Trigger Warning" to avoid equating those trivial things to PTSD and trauma triggers. All that being said, not everything needs a content warning!

Here's some good rules of thumb:

1) If someone, especially a survivor, tells you your work is triggering, consider using a content warning. We're all learning, it's okay to make mistakes with this - but take time to learn and grow from it.

2) If you have prolonged graphic descriptions of situations you think would probably be "rated R" in film, then consider using a content warning.

3) If you feel it would be inappropriate to share this story with a child, you may want to consider using a content warning. (Note there are children as young as 10, 11, and 12 on YWS, content warnings can help them opt out of work they prefer not to read).

4) If the work engages with descriptions (especially prolonged descriptions) of suicide, rape, eating disorders, or self-harm - these are all particularly heavy subjects that are often connected to mental trauma. Please consider using a content warning.


SUGGESTED TOPICS THAT WARRANT CONTENT WARNINGS

This list is not exhaustive, if there's a subject that would fall under one of these categories, it's probably a good rule of thumb to use the more general category. Also as stated earlier, merely using these words within your piece does not necessarily necessitate a content warning, but a prolonged description of any of these subjects may warrant considering using one.

Death
Dying
Suicide
Suicide Attempt
Suicidal Ideation
Violence
Gore (includes prolonged descriptions of injury, blood, scars, wounds)
Cannibalism
Abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual)
Sex
Nudity
Sexual Assault
Rape
Sexual Harassment
Cheating
Slavery
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Cults
Gaslighting
Pedophilia
Incest
Pornography
Mutilation
Self-Harm
Mental Illness (including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia)
Phobia (may want to specify type of phobia)
Eating Disorders
Body Dysphoria
Any kind of discrimination (including religious, racial, ethnic, gender etc.)
Homophobia
Transphobia
Sexism
Racism
Ableism
Islamophobia
Antisemitism
Infant Death
Infertility
Miscarriage
Abortion
Physical Illness (especially Cancer, Covid, AIDS/HIV)
Terminal Illness
Stalking
Bullying
Swearing
Slurs
Substance Abuse (Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking)
Addiction
Medical Procedure / Description of Surgical Procedure
Car Accidents
Natural Disasters
World Tragedies (ie. Holocaust, Genocide, 9/11, Terrorism)
Warfare
Weapons
Shootings / Gun Violence
Police Violence
Kidnapping / Abduction
Animal Cruelty
Animal Death

MORE INFORMATION / ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Some more dialogue about content warnings: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023 ... -warnings/

This is a good article: https://www.themix.org.uk/mental-health ... 37946.html

also good: https://evependle.com/index.php/2019/08 ... e-authors/

END NOTE

Thank you for reading this all, if you have your own insights to share, please feel free to. I would be happy to engage in dialogue about this subject either here or through PM. Feel free to pass on this article if it would be useful to someone else.

I have such mixed thoughts about this!

One thing that tears me apart is sometimes we write to vent out our traumas in some way. And like... if I were to look at someone else's traumas, I would be able to write out their content warnings with absolutely no problem. But like, even just listing out the traumas from my own experience is... difficult. Like, even typing out certain words is just so hard because I don't want to even think about them, let alone type them out. If that makes sense?

Or, like... I'll want to diminish them, like, "Well, yeah it sucked but it's not that bad, is it?" (Meanwhile, the reader is in agony reading it because the pain is just spilling off the page... oops.)

So like, yes, it's like, yes, there is trauma, but also it is really really hard to write out those content warnings -- even harder than writing the actual work, I would argue. Because like... you can think that you can write a nuanced piece that looks at the trauma in a balanced way without making you feel like what you're writing is actually about a trauma ("I'm just getting my feelings out!") but a content warning is something terrifyingly real, like "I suffered through this thing" and that is a terrifying thing to write out if you're still in denial.

Anyway, that's my struggle about poetry, which tends to be a lot more... personal, I think.

About novels, the thing that confuses me is that I don't want to spoil the novel. But also, there's going to be traumatic bits that I want to warn you about. But like... how to do this? I do not know! Being a parent now of a bunch of book readers, I've had to talk to my kids about plot twists that they are still grappling with ("why does this character die?" is a common question) so like... talking about death without spoiling the death and ruining the literary experience is... tricky.)

Anyway, just some random thoughts.

@Snoink - (sorry for the slow reply)

I get what you're saying. For me dealing with a particular life experience - it took me a very long time to use "the word" to refer to it; but would prefer to talk around it (as I'm also doing here) - I think for some people certain labels feel like they almost mark or take over your identity if that makes sense - to that end, I strongly believe people should be able to choose which labels to use for their experiences or no-labels at all! In those types of scenarios, where maybe the author is writing about an autobiographical experience that is still raw, and they simply don't want to use content warnings with specificity I think you can do a content warning in a little bit quieter and general way by saying something like -

"Please note, the following blog / story is informed by some really tough things I'm going through / and some readers may find difficult"

or "Content Warning: 18+ / Heavy Content"

When I think back to my friend who went into a spiral after being triggered by a gruesome in-depth description of self-harm, I believe even a vague preface like that would have helped her disengage or leave. A content warning, may look a little more informal in more informal settings, and a little more formal in formal settings - but the idea still applies. I also believe that just because someone has experienced a type of abuse, violence, or trauma, does not give them the right to go on to abuse, attack, or traumatize others - and providing content warnings of some kind, even where it's hard is one way to assist in that. I can empathize with why a person may choose not to use them, but ultimately the reality is by not using them, they may be passively allowing their experience to harm more people.

Also I definitely acknowledge, there are some settings where people need to walk in assuming heavy things will be discussed - ie. a reddit thread about abuse, or certain blogs, doctor's office, or medical threads etc. if the title or the context already implies the topic will be discussed, I do not see as strong of a need for a content warning and don't want to imply this is legalistic or needed in every setting in all times. People need take responsibility for their well-being on both sides of this issue - both author and reader. There's levels. The mere presence of the word "death" / "self-harm" does not seem to justify a content warning either - this is more about prolonged descriptions of those subjects.

For novels - I addressed above the desire not to "spoil" - because of scenarios like saying "Content Warning / Suicide" for something like Romeo and Juliet would be a major spoiler - in those cases I'd suggest author's consider using a more general CW at the beginning, and then if there's like a super gruesome scene at some point maybe drawing attention to that at the chapter level.

Poetry is interesting too - in that, a lot of time author's write about a serious subject through not writing about it - with metaphor etc. so does one need to use a content warning every time they allude to a serious subject? I don't really think so in my opinion, but if they're going to linger in depth about a very serious subject, it might just be a good idea to drop a CW.

Thanks for engaging in some discussion about this! My opinion on the importance of Content Warnings flip-flopped in the last 4 years, and is continuing to develop.