ON CENSORSHIP

[dragonlady7]

writing, my writing

via https://ift.tt/0F5sSly

A little while back, I got a comment on a chapter of a fic I posted a few months ago, and the commenter was saying that some content in the chapter had triggered them. Now, this is something I really care about. I write a lot of warnings on things, both for PTSD triggers etc., and also just generally for content. A lot of people are going through tough times and like to know what they’re getting into in content they’re consuming, and I feel that and I agree with it.

This person wasn’t asking me for a warning, though. They were asking me to rewrite the chapter, and any future mentions, to remove or address the part that upset them (and any future mention of it!), to their individual satisfaction.

Now, fellows. That’s a different matter entirely. That’s called censorship. And censorship is something with which I do not agree.

I absolutely believe that no one should have to engage with content that triggers them. I think that’s perfectly reasonable. As someone goes about their day, they should be able to make informed choices about what they consume. This is why, and I am genuinely writing this largely because I want to make it plain for people to whom this applies that I am sincere about this, if you encounter things in my work that you wish you’d been warned about, I do want you to tell me, so that I can warn for them. If you still really want to read the rest, I’m happy to do those “to avoid upsetting content skip this section” notes at the ends of chapters. You should be able to access content you’re comfortable with, even if it’s in proximity to things you aren’t.

(I do respect content creators who have realized they cannot accommodate this and choose not to warn, however. That is valid. I’m not judging that. And it’s an approach I might take with some works in future, I’m not saying I never would! Sometimes it’s just not possible, and you need to put up a flag to say that. CNTW is a warning, after all.)

The point of all of this, though, is that you, the content consumer, have to take care of yourself. I am devoted to giving you as many tools as I can to allow you as much enjoyment as you can find. But that is, ultimately, not something I can entirely do for you. Only you will know what you can handle, and sometimes, I’m sorry to say it, you’re going to encounter something that is going to harm you. It may be that even with all my best intentions at warning, I can’t render my content safe for you to consume. In that case, I am sorry for it, but that’s all I can reasonably do. The content isn’t safe for you, so you should not consume it.

But at that point it is up to you. You have to take care of yourself. This commenter was furious when I told them this, incorrectly interpreting this as a fake-nice brush-off on my part, but I was deadly serious, and one hundred percent genuine. I cannot be entrusted with your mental well-being, reader. I cannot hold that responsibility. Even if I tried, even if I bent over myself, even if I wrote only to spec, even if I custom-edited every chapter to avoid ever upsetting anyone, I cannot do that. There is no safe space that is safe for everyone. I cannot possibly make only correct choices for every possible reader, and still tell any kind of story, with any kind of integrity. Only you, individually, have the ability and the power to judge what is safe for you, to control your intake and manage your conditions and keep yourself safe.

If you find that my content isn’t safe for you, but then continue to engage with it anyway, that is no longer my fault. Asking me remove the content is not a reasonable solution to that problem.

(NB: It’s not that I will never edit something once published. I will edit a posted work to fix language that is unintentionally insensitive, for example. If I’ve misused a word, or mis-stated some point, I will very likely re-word something. It’s not that I will never edit a work. But that is not censorship, that is simple correction. Likewise, there are a lot of reasons I might change something as I’m writing it– for example I might avoid writing about something a friend dislikes or is specifically triggered by, especially if that’s a beta-reader or someone otherwise very closely engaged with the story. And if I’m writing a fic to spec or to commission– sure, the commissioner’s wants/DNWs are absolutely relevant there! But I enter into it knowing I’m doing that, and if I don’t want to, I won’t; it’s between me and the muses and people whose opinion I’ve sought. Sensitivity readers too! This digression is getting long but my point is– a writer/artist may well entertain many viewpoints in shaping a story, but they’re all consensual. Coming by after a work is published and making it an author’s problem that it upset you, beyond a reasonable demand for warnings, is the subject of this essay.)

Censorship is a horribly slippery slope, and I don’t condone it in any situation. It doesn’t work, and it doesn’t help the people it purports to protect. This is why I am so conscientious in my tagging, why I work so hard to make sure things are properly warned-for. Because I do want to be accessible, and I do want my readers to have the tools they need to make good choices for themselves.

Only you can take care of yourself. Take care of yourself. I am not saying this as an empty well-wish, this is not insincere filler text. I am telling you that I cannot and will not do it, so it is up to you. (Your picture was not posted)