My Entire Body Of Work Is A Trigger Warning

And this is the only one you will get

Photo taken and owned by MaryClare StFrancis

Humans are storytelling creatures. Our stories change hearts and minds, they let us be heard, seen, and understood. There are certain kinds of stories that don’t necessarily work for everyone, and so I thought I would tell you some of the things you can expect from me.

I absolutely will not use trigger warnings

I don’t use “trigger warnings.” Period. Don’t even bother asking.

They are not only deeply offensive to me, but they are a trigger for me. Trigger warnings make me feel like people think I am too stupid to know what to expect out of personal stories, and that they are patting me on the head telling me I’m cute.

When someone uses one I feel like they are talking down to me, trying to censor what I read, and assuming I can’t handle it. Someone spoke to me in a condescending way few weeks ago claiming that trigger warnings keep me safe. When I responsed that they don’t keep me safe, I was told that I was mistaken.

So again they insinuated that I didn’t know myself well enough to know what was safe or unsafe for me, and so it was their responsibility to gatekeep the stories for me.