Reading fanficrants Made Me Think of This
So, we have long, careful lists of things to warn about here in fanficland. A lot of them are even fandom-specific, like the existence of a person resulting from the season four DW finale that I won't reference here because it's a spoiler.
There is much faffing about whenever something someone thinks should be warned for isn't mentioned in the header. Triggering, squicking, all these terms we have for it. I mean, I have squicks and personal preferences for subject matter I find entertaining. I've never left a ranty review, though, when something I don't like is in a story and it wasn't mentioned in the header, and these are common squicks that are usually warned for, so I'm sure a lot of people would say I was somehow warranted in complaining had I done so.
When did we enter this contract, though? Has it just been mostly mutually agreed-upon in fandomland? I don't read something or invite any sort of fiction into my world with a preconceived notion that it shouldn't make me uncomfortable or sad. (Wouldn't watch Doctor Who at all if that was the case, right?) Why should I expect to be prepared for every emotion that a fan-written story might wring out of me? Why would I possibly be mad if someone wrote well enough to elicit a response from me, even if it was to make me maudlin, or contemplative, or even just vaguely uncomfortable?
I'm not a particularly well-adjusted person, but I think this growing movement of "warn for everything under the sun because there's SOMEONE who will be squicked by it" is lunacy. Fandoms warn for gen, het AND slash. I'm sure someone out there once got some bad news while smelling a daisy, and someday that person will leave nasty comments on a fic featuring someone smelling a flower as a throwaway plot point. It's crazy. I'm so weary of re-examining every word and worrying about being jumped on for not warning for a squick. I don't expect that of scripted television or a book I choose from the shelves of a bookstore or a library, and it's crazy that we expect it in our fan communities.
Am I nuts here? Insensitive? Wouldn't be the first time on either count, so telling me so if you think it's the case will honestly not hurt my feelings in the least.
There is much faffing about whenever something someone thinks should be warned for isn't mentioned in the header. Triggering, squicking, all these terms we have for it. I mean, I have squicks and personal preferences for subject matter I find entertaining. I've never left a ranty review, though, when something I don't like is in a story and it wasn't mentioned in the header, and these are common squicks that are usually warned for, so I'm sure a lot of people would say I was somehow warranted in complaining had I done so.
When did we enter this contract, though? Has it just been mostly mutually agreed-upon in fandomland? I don't read something or invite any sort of fiction into my world with a preconceived notion that it shouldn't make me uncomfortable or sad. (Wouldn't watch Doctor Who at all if that was the case, right?) Why should I expect to be prepared for every emotion that a fan-written story might wring out of me? Why would I possibly be mad if someone wrote well enough to elicit a response from me, even if it was to make me maudlin, or contemplative, or even just vaguely uncomfortable?
I'm not a particularly well-adjusted person, but I think this growing movement of "warn for everything under the sun because there's SOMEONE who will be squicked by it" is lunacy. Fandoms warn for gen, het AND slash. I'm sure someone out there once got some bad news while smelling a daisy, and someday that person will leave nasty comments on a fic featuring someone smelling a flower as a throwaway plot point. It's crazy. I'm so weary of re-examining every word and worrying about being jumped on for not warning for a squick. I don't expect that of scripted television or a book I choose from the shelves of a bookstore or a library, and it's crazy that we expect it in our fan communities.
Am I nuts here? Insensitive? Wouldn't be the first time on either count, so telling me so if you think it's the case will honestly not hurt my feelings in the least.