I've seen a lot of talk about "content warnings" in horror fiction recently, and that's got me thinking. Some folks are for them, some are against them. It’s great that people are talking about stuff like this. Definitely some important things to think about, and the subject is worth some thought and discussion.
I think that content warnings aren't a bad thing and can probably be helpful. Most people like to read horror to be scared and thrilled, not traumatized. And as there are obviously events that can be very upsetting I don’t necessarily object to horror fiction coming with some sort of warning. If a publisher or author wants to include that on a book, I think that’s a fine thing.
What I wonder about, I suppose, is how can a publisher/author predict what could be seen as traumatic? From what I’ve seen through engaging with the horror community for many years, there are definitely some common elements that can cause trauma, and should be treated with kid-gloves. Those sorts of things I can definitely see the need for content warnings. (EG: I read a story recently that I was quite enjoying, and recommending to a friend as I was going along. Then right in the middle of it there was a pretty graphic sexual assault scene which I found upsetting. I knew that my friend would find it really upsetting, if not traumatic so I warned them off, and let them know why in vague terms.)
How far does the publisher/author need to go to produce those warnings? If they list every potentially upsetting element of the book, is that helpful, or just overwhelming? How can they can possibly cover every potentially upsetting element of the story?
When I talk about horror movies and books with people who aren't genre fans, if they ask for recommendations, I always try to gauge their interest level, and how much they’re willing to put up with. There’s plenty of great “entry level” horror out there that I don’t mind recommending. And save the harder stuff for people who really show interest in the genre. I guess that’s sort of what the idea of putting a content warning on a book is for. Movies do this already in the ratings bar (where it’ll list the reasons why a film was rated a certain way).
For what it’s worth, I started thinking about this seriously the other day when I read something that I found really upsetting. Not necessarily a “triggering” event, but it threw me off for a couple of weeks while I processed it. I spent a lot of time talking with friends and family about it, trying to work through how I’d felt about the element in that story, and decide what I should do about it. However, I also realize that of all the people who could potentially have read that piece, more than likely the only person who’d get upset by it was me. There’s no way the publisher could have known how much that element would upset me, and I’m sure that nobody else who read the thing had anywhere near the same reaction.
Lots to think about, I suppose. But in the end, yeah, I can see the use of content warnings.