Salon.com: At the time I was teaching the course, I was also figuring out a life outside of academia. I had been a wandering postdoc for a long time and was tired. A friend of mine had recently been violently sexually assaulted. I was a witness. The trauma she suffered, from the assault and the long, drawn-out trial of her assailants, led me to volunteer at my local rape crisis center. Working directly with folks who have experienced trauma, I entered the course believing in trigger warnings and gave them throughout the class, even though it seemed as though the title of the course was a trigger warning in and of itself. Regardless, I gave them for almost every film I showed. I even gave them for films that really shouldn’t have needed them (i.e., Psycho).
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“Lets be honest life is a trigger”. This article is certainly a fascinating perspective on the trigger warning culture. Where is that line between uncomfortable learning and respect of the extenuating circumstances that some members of our community have unfortunately been exposed to. It is my personal belief that in order to have progress we need to have a conversation that is not going to be able to be limited to what we feel comfortable discussing. At the same time though if people feel pressured to leave the room this is essentially self censorship of a community that really should be involved in that conversation. Academia is in a difficult place right now and there will be no easy answer to the problem. We can’t set aside our past at the snap of the finger and we also can’t afford to. Trying to do all this in a way that makes everyone feel safe is probably impossible but we still need to try.
Going into this article I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up agreeing with the author to a greater extent than I anticipated.
I think the author gets into useful territory when bringing up the question of if trigger warnings in relation to forced-fairness. The situation of a student demanding that the professor show positive representations of black bodies misses the point that black bodies have been historically portrayed negatively, especially in cinema. Giving a “fair” representation would then be historically inaccurate, and this is why the professor chose a scene that was considered to be ground-breaking for its representation and inclusion of black and homosexual narratives. I think it’s really interesting how the author mentions that as a woman of color she felt she was being treated differently by her self-identified feminist and activist students. I have definitely seen this sort of behavior before, where young activist appear to become too aggressive in their efforts and begin to walk on those trying to support them, or those whom they are trying to support in the first place.
Like the author said, the topic of the class should have been enough of a trigger warning to alert survivors that it would be a risky course to take. Expecting the teacher to email detailed warnings of what disturbing footage would be shown each day is unreasonable, considering that the entire course is uncomfortable at a base level.
The author’s point about not being able to make them uncomfortable is true: we learn how our worldview is flawed through usually uncomfortable realizations. For a course that is so dependent upon, and which involves so much discomfort, trying to remove all discomfort from this course is missing the point.
Trigger warnings should not be a door with an “Exit” sign. That’s not their purpose; that is the purpose of censorship. It is giving survivors of traumatic experiences a heads-up that what they see may be upsetting, but it should not be an immediate cue to exit the room. This decision should obviously be that of the survivor, but in creating a culture of being cognizant of how content can be upsetting, we must be careful to avoid creating one which effectively eliminates this content entirely, or which presents these warnings as cues to leave conversations or avoid content.
The author’s closing statement on the extreme privilege embedded in the use of (and demand for) trigger warnings is very interesting and not something I had previously considered. I think she effectively pairs this with the idea that in fighting for trigger warnings, who are you actually helping? If trigger warnings only serve the privileged, we may be dancing around the real issues.
I may be one of few people who believe this, but if you are offended by the content of a class, don’t take it. If the class is required for your major and you are offended by it or cannot sit through the content without having the content censored, you may want to re-think your major. Part of the point of attending these types of lectures and watching these films is to discuss in a public forum the difficulties that arise from the use and abuse of sexuality in film and media and how we as intellectuals can learn from that portrayal of sexuality. This is the time to look at it from an analytical standpoint and use higher thinking and react to the content in a non-emotional way.
That being said, triggers are uncontrollable in many cases, and for survivors of abuse or sexual violence, maybe this class or subject matter is not the right forum for discussion. Try the course another semester, a different course, or ask an advisor to place out of the course.
Alternatively, I wonder if this would have been a case when speaking to a professor one-on-one about specific instances that the student might have trouble with and asking to watch films with that specific subject matter outside of class at his or her own pace.
This conundrum is one of utmost social import. I remember earlier this year I heard about a college that was moving to pull all books that dealt with rape and sexual assault from the university library. That doesn't feel right. Just because something is unpleasant - and rape and sexual assault are among the most unpleasant things to discuss, deal with, live through, or recall - does not mean it does not exist. And in removing triggering items from academia to try and protect survivors, inevitably we - as a society - lose a chance to educate a very susceptible developing population and the ability to condemn perpetrators. If anything, it shoves these issues under the rug even more.
There is no easy answer to this problem. I think we frequently undersell ourselves as a culture, and we allow ourselves to be over accommodated in areas like this. I'm definitely not saying trigger warnings are invalid, but we must entertain the notion that they are overused, and, moreover, that we are better than what we are asking of ourselves.
Trigger warnings and sensitivity are subjects that there is really no completely correct way to deal with. There is delicate balance between being politically correct and restricting the ability of the professor to teach. When you think about this situation the most important thing to consider is the effect that both approaches will have on their students. If the professor doesn't give the students any trigger warnings then there is the potential for someone who has suffered immense emotional trauma to have to relive that, which is something that obviously should be avoided. However, passing out blatant warnings of exactly what the professor is going to be talking about ruins their ability to be creative and surprise their students. All of this could be avoided if the students had known about this before they even signed up for the course. Then only the students who are comfortable with the material will be in the class. Aubrey is right, if you don't like the content of a class you shouldn't be taking it.
This issue is a complicated one for me. I had a friend in high school who yelled at me after she watched Dead Poets Society at my recommendation, because she found the father's lack of acceptance of a child's desire to make art and that child's eventual suicide too reminiscent of her own life, and that I should have known better than to make her watch it. I naturally didn't want to send my friend into a spiral of depression, and yet I have a hard time believing that the way to make it through life is to avoid anything that makes us sad or uncomfortable. I recognize that I speak from a place of privilege, which is that I have been able to go through most of my life without major trauma, but I think we need to encounter topics that are difficult and challenge our worldview. I am a person who is sickened by cruelty and injustice, and I could not watch the movie Hotel Rwanda without being wracked with uncontrollable sobs. However, I know that encountering topics that make me that uncomfortable broaden my perspective, and ultimately make me a more aware and empathetic person. If you really cannot handle these ideas and images, don't take a class that will deliberately expose you to them, but I think in the long run, encountering difficult ideas and images makes us better citizens of the world.
Good old trigger warnings. This topic has been brought up to debate in every single one of my English classes since freshman year. Essentially, it comes down to the question “how triggered is triggered?” Because people can feel uncomfortable but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are triggered. However, there are definitely cases where trigger warnings are an absolute must. Sex, sexual assault, violence, gore, heavy race or gender based violence. These aren’t things you can just spring on people, because you never know what someone else has been through. My rule of thumb is to trust a trigger, because sometimes even the weird stuff can really damage someone. I once read a the story of a woman who was triggered by eggs, because when she was raped she made her rapist eggs the next day. And that could really legitimately trigger someone. So it’s better to be safe than sorry. But it’s also important to create a dialogue with people about triggers, and have them feel comfortable telling you about their triggers. Hopefully, people can come to a better understanding of what is considered a trigger, and feel comfortable enough identifying their own triggers.
This article makes an excellent point; we have to confront the uncomfortable truth of the past before we can move on. You can’t expect to be protected from these ugly realities. We have to know these ugly realities in order to inspire change. Without realities there is no reason to change. Mommy is not always going to protect you from the bad things that happen or have happened on this earth. I will also say that it is impossible for people who have never experienced assault or abuse to fully understand the emotional complexities that are involved. Sex is messy. It always has and it always will be. And it keeps getting messier and messier. What is consent? It means something different to every one, so it’s not always ethical to pass judgment. I think we as a society recognize that we need for social norms to change but we can’t seem to agree on what is right.
I think trigger warnings in general education is okay (I'm not a huge fan but I get it). This is a whole new level though. I agree with her that the class description is a trigger warning. Showing people upsetting things is a guarantee. If you can not handle it don't sign up, or drop it. I think I might have just been annoyed if someone came into my office and told me I had to show something with a specific character or plot to make up for what I had already shown.
Although we are only getting one side of the story. She is listed on ratemyprofessor and she does not exactly have favorable review. many students complained that she cut them off, and was more interested in getting them to believe in her opinion than discussing theirs. And I could see the kind of person who would write an article where she invalidates her students opinions by saying their brains have not developed all the way, not exactly being a good teacher.
I think trigger warnings are great most of the time. It's great to warn people of disturbing stuff, I hate having things relating to rape or sexual harassment sprung on me unexpectedly. But there is a time and place that people need to see those things. Such is a class on sex, you need to watch some stuff about sex. You need to be able to handle the idea that yes, there are bad things in the world and the goal of life is not to never be uncomfortable, it's to learn how to deal with those things in a positive and constructive manner. If you're watching a class and you see a clip that pushes you to tears - you have to be able to articulate why it has pushed you there. You need to be able to add something to the conversation.
I think that the most telling aspect of this article is that this professor went into the class believing in trigger warnings, and in the importance of keeping her students comfortable while teaching the material. The fact that this devolved into such an adversarial and counter-productive class environment shows that while the intention behind trigger warnings may be a good one, actually applying them to a class is complex, and possibly doomed to fail. And rightly so! It's a tough question. Of course, we want students to learn, be surprised, challenged, and made uncomfortable so that they have to re-think they beliefs and add a new dimension to some of their opinion or values - that's what colleges and universities are for. On the other hand, it's evident that no professor wants to make a student so uncomfortable that learning can no longer take place. I think that trigger warnings at the beginning of the semester are a pretty good in-between, if the content mandates it, but I don't think that the day-to-day warnings issued by the professor at the request of her students is right. In a way, the fact that we even have trigger warnings in some places means that we, as a society, are moving towards a greater awareness of the lingering effects of trauma and the importance for people to feel safe in their environment. But we can't have one-student classes, and there needs to be a middle ground - such is the nature of societies.
I especially liked the end of the article, because I think she makes a really good point: her students feel entitled to this class being a safe space for each and every single one of them, but the reality is that so many Americans exist in spaces that were never meant for them, and they have no trigger warnings to ward off the violence and alienation.
This article really spoke to me in many ways. The whole issue of “trigger warnings” is a really interesting look into human psychology and modern culture. When working through a traumatic experience, studies have found that it is actually best to confront the experience and work through it. Surviving and dealing with an issue is healthier that hiding from it. Once a person stands up to a trigger, it can loose its hold on the person. Today’s culture often promotes the use of trigger warnings, so people do have to be uncomfortable or be reminded of anything uncomfortable. Though I agree that people shouldn’t have to deal with deeply personal issues in a public setting, this doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t deal with the uncomfortable. As the author states, many people in this world don’t get to decide to not be uncomfortable. They are placed in danger and in horrible situations everyday. We owe them to not put our own comfort over talking thorough the real issues at hand.
First of all- if these kids are so uncomfrotabelw ith dealing with the way sex has been portrayed historically- why in the world are they even taking the class. You can read a course description.
I both believe in trigger warnings, yet also believe that the culture of finding everything offensive can go too far. i realize that traumatic things happen to people, but to go through life afraid, and to find everything offensive, and especially the "As a white heterosexual male this offends me", seemed like being offended for the sake of being offended. I hope that people can hurdle over thing and learn to deal with them instead of always living with the fear of being "triggered".
I think it is incredibly important that we understand what may offend someone, trigger someone, potentially cause harm to a certain group of people, and so on. That being said, I think we must also be very aware of how censorship can affect society and the way we converse about societal issues. Trigger warnings can be necessary for people, and are useful for creating awareness around topics that may cause emotional pain. However, I believe we must be careful with our use of trigger warnings and make sure we do not begin over-censoring certain conversations. I also believe that analytic thinking and the ability to detach emotion from topics is extremely valuable. Obviously, I am not advocating that all emotions should be disregarded when speaking about certain things, but it is important to be able to have a non-emotional response to emotional triggers. Hopefully we can get to a place where trigger warnings are not over-used but can still benefit others and a place where analytical thinking is taught to those who may need it to overcome triggers.
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