I'm Triggered! Blurring the Lines.

Okay friends and readers, this time around, I want to talk a little bit about blurring of the lines in art. Because that's what writing is, right? Right, it's a form of art. 

My most recent novel, Penance, is set in the 1980s, a time when certain attitudes were, how can I put this? Different, and the language often reflected those attitudes. At times, my modern sensibilities felt a bit uncomfortable with some of that aspect. But as artists, it's not our job to whitewash history and pretend that such things didn't exist. It's society's place to evolve, to learn from and build upon the mistakes and outdated beliefs of previous generations. This can't be done through ignorance. There's a hell of a big difference between acknowledging the past and glorifying it. 

There is a need to differentiate between the art and the artist.

The above sentence might sound like a bit of a sweeping generalisation, and perhaps it is, but it still remains a concept that, especially in this modern age of social media, a lot of people out there can't seem to grasp. It seems that too many people are hell bent on equating the art with the person that created it; He writes horrible things, so me must be a horrible person. This is an attitude that weighs on my mind a lot and, if I'm being honest (would I lie to you?) disturbs me, a symptom of a culture that has become far too judgemental for its own good. You wrote a rape scene? Great, that means you must be a sexual deviant. One of your supporting characters is a racist? Oh, you must share those views. Speaking solely for myself, I've never written anything tantamount to sexual assault in any of my fiction; it's something that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing. It's my opinion that my writing should be to shock and sometimes provoke, yes, but also to entertain. With any freedom of expression comes a degree of responsibility. To me personally, such a subject is out of bounds unless being written about in order to inform. I hesitate to use the word taboo, but if you're going to write about something that deserves serious treatment, then you need to be damn sure that you can do it justice, instead of falling back on it as a means of lazy titillation. That's my opinion. Everyone has their own moral boundaries, and mine stops somewhere around there.

I wouldn't be so arrogant as to vilify someone else for writing such things however.

Part of the problem here I think, is that too many people try too hard to be seen to be doing the right thing, leading them to falsely demonise others, an action that breeds resentment all round. Self-appointed arbiters of taste, who have assumed the mantle of protector. The problem is that they don't speak for other people...and saving people whether they want to be saved or not doesn't always make you look like a good person, it just makes you look a bit of a dick, giving those people against whom you're railing - who we all should be railing against- something to point and laugh at. It's pretty much akin to the age old argument: The line between fantasy and reality, between truth and fiction. The assumption that art and artist are always inextricably linked leads back to the argument that you're assuming that readers/viewers/listeners (delete as appropriate) can't think for themselves, they can't make an informed choice and, goddamnit, you're going to make that choice for them. In trying so hard to set yourself up as some caring, considerate defender with a social conscience, you instead set yourself up to be perceived as just as bad as your appointed adversary; a misguided censor of anything that you might deem immoral or hurtful.

Whomsoever fights monsters, and all that.

My own (albeit brief) personal experience comes from the debate around the use of trigger warnings in fiction. It's an argument that floats its head every once in a while, a bit like that stubborn nugget of turd that refuses to flush away, bobbing back from around the bend a few seconds before you walk away from the toilet, and it gives you that same will it never just go away? feeling. I've never used trigger or content warnings in my own work. I don't think it warrants them and, as a (fairly) rational adult, capable of making my own decisions, I like to extend some courtesy to readers and assume that they're capable of the same. By that same token, I understand why some writers would feel the need to warn potential readers of any extreme content, and again, I wouldn't be so arrogant to criticise them for choosing to do so. You see? Freedom of choice. Anyway, the last time I saw the argument rear its head on Twitter (remember that place, kids?), I decided to put my own opinion across. After a long think (stop laughing!), I did a bit of research, and I found a journal article that put across the opinion that, in many cases, content warnings actually do more harm than good. Instead of alleviating any fears, they can instead serve to exacerbate anxiety in the potential reader by triggering them ("Oh my God, this happens in that book!") when the actual content itself might actually be less triggering, a textbook example of counter-productive. I politely offered up my own opinion, along with a link to the article. Yeah, I got some abuse for that. How dare I show my ass in such a way? Monster! No compassion! And my own personal favourite: Read the fucking room! Because everyone knows how to be an adult and have a sensible discussion, rather than resorting to the slinging of insults, right?

Man, I got myself a few blocks that day. Ah, fuck 'em.

Short version: If you want to use trigger warnings, go for it. If you don't want to use trigger warnings, you do you. Readers aren't stupid, and they don't always need some shining-armoured protector to hold their hand. Adults are capable of choice and, within the bounds of accepted decency and morality, no one has the right to take that choice away from them. Christ knows, there are bigger problems in the world right now. Anyway, now that I've probably scared a few of you off:

What I've been reading: Confess, the Autobiography (Rob Halford) I was raised on Judas Priest, and Rob Halford isn't just a gay icon, but an icon full stop.

What I've been listening to: Black Sabbath (always), Ministry - Filth Pig, Dark Side of the Spoon, Psalm 69.

What I've been watching: Squid Game season two, lots of medical documentaries.

Right, I'm off. Later!

- L