Hi,
I thought I would institute a new policy around here, which I hope will help readers navigate my posts a little better. I’m calling it Signpost Warnings, because the basic intent is to clue readers in when something unsavory might be in store for them. You can think of these as signs warning, “You’re Heading Off the Edge of the Map - Beyond Here Lie Monsters.”
I have mixed feelings about trigger warnings, but I think there’s a tasteful way to give sensitive readers a heads up when they might encounter disturbing content. Some of the best podcasts offer parental warnings on the occasional episode in which “adult themes” come up, or when “adult language” is used by guests or interviewers. My new policy will be something along those lines. I’m not instituting it specifically for parents and children, but rather because people of all ages have different levels of tolerance for violence, sexual references, foul language, drug use, etc.
Since nobody is imposing this upon me, it isn’t a violation of free speech. Rather it is an attempt to use free expression in a way that respects my audience. You can think of it like the disclaimer, “Pardon my French,” which people use when they are about to swear.
I’m not adding warnings out of a desire to protect my fragile audience or out of overconcern for offending people’s fragile sensibilities. I think that’s disrespectful. On the other hand, I think it’s a sign of respect to recognize that people are different in what they like and dislike and to politely inform them upfront when they might encounter something distasteful.
This sort of signaling goes on all the time in explicit and implicit ways, and not just when the FCC mandates it. Often, it’s out of a desire to ensure customers get what they expect. In romance, a great deal of work goes into signaling to potential readers (via cover, blurb, title, and marketing) when a book is a sweet/clean romance and when a book is a spicy romance (or even straight erotica). In other words, romance novel covers are literally designed to inform customers of whether or not there will be sex in the book and, if so, how much.
I won’t be doing that, but from this point forward, I will add a quick signpost at the top of any story or essay that contains thematic material that some readers may want to avoid. It won’t be exhaustive, but it might look something like, “For your awareness, the story you’re about to read contains mildly graphic violence and foul language.” You can use your discretion as to whether or not to read on.
This policy goes into effect as of the date of publication of this announcement. And I reserve the right to alter, change, violate, or otherwise bend it at will. I won’t retroactively add any signpost warnings to previously published posts. Future posts will either contain warnings or (more likely) won’t contain anything I perceive to require a warning.
Also, while Substack has close to a laissez-faire approach to free speech, they do have a few things they don’t allow. I don’t have any plans now, or in the future, to violate those terms.
Disclaimer:
I thought I would give a quick explanation/disclaimer about my philosophy on these matters. I won’t be able to cover everything here, but you should be able to get the idea.
I’ve said that I’m a free-expression maximalist, which means I actually think that everything and anything under the sun (except child porn) that is offensive or inoffensive should be within the acceptable discourse of a free society. But that doesn’t mean I write everything and anything under the sun. For instance, I’m glad I live in a society in which people can profit off of writing erotica, but I would never write erotica.
Let’s dive in:
Violence: This is probably the big one. I suspect I have a much higher tolerance for violence than most. I’ll try to be circumspect about cluing readers in to anything potentially grisly, but - just as a blanket disclaimer - I reserve the right to include suicide, murder, war, brawling, death, injury, etc. in stories I write.
Sexual Content: Someday I may write in depth about my personal approach to this, as I have many thoughts on sex, art, and modern culture. For now, I’ll say that I think the common refrain that, “we get violence and sex backwards in art, because violence is bad and sex is good, so we should be more cavalier towards the latter,” is highly flawed. I will never write a sex scene or include any sexually explicit material in anything I write. However, because it is the sea we swim in, I reserve the right to reference sexually explicit things and to talk about sexually explicit themes. For instance, I reserve the right to have characters speak about vulgar acts, because that’s how people talk. Which brings me to:
Four-Letter Words: I’m generally of the opinion that discretion and self-control should govern the use and abuse of bad words. I find performative swearing to be childish, mainly because we live in a culture in which swearing is so common and widespread that it has lost its ability to be provocative. I’m generally of the opinion that swearing should be reserved for infrequent use, so that it is actually shocking when used - which, after all, is one of its purposes. That said, it’s how people talk. So, characters of mine may use bad words.
Drug Use: People do drugs. Even though they’re illegal. I don’t find there to be much that is attractive about drugs, but many other people do. Because of that, I won’t glorify drug use, but I reserve the right to have characters use drugs. It isn’t illegal to write about people doing things that are illegal (at least for the time being).
Other Criminal Activity: See the previous sentence.
Hateful Behavior: I don’t always write about characters who share my views on things. That said, I generally try to use some discretion when writing about racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, etc. To be honest, I think stories with characters who exhibit this kind of behavior will be rare. I try to avoid these topics, as I don’t particularly have much desire to explore most of the themes that fall under “hateful behavior.”
Other: If it’s not on this list, that’s probably because I think it’s fair game.