What is a content warning? A content warning is a list of themes and topics a work includes which may be disturbing to some viewers. Content warnings are a safety tool that people use to be prepared for engaging with difficult or triggering topics.
What should I list for content warnings? Anything major that may be disturbing or upsetting to a viewer. This is a bit broad, but here are some of the most common content warnings:
- Rape/sexual assault
- Bestiality
- Incest
- Pedophilia
- Ableism
- Transphobia
- Homophobia
- Racism (specifying targeted group if needed)
- Antisemisitsm
- Xenophobia
- Real world politics
- Slavery
- Genocide
- Abuse (Specify type: Child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, etc)
- Suicide
- Self harm
- Substance abuse
- Disordered eating
- Pregnancy/loss of pregnancy
- Child death
- Violence against children
- Pet/animal death
- Violence against animals
- Torture
- Body horror
- Extreme blood and gore
- Hand/eye/mouth trauma
There are more things you can also add, but these are the most common things warned for.
Why wouldn’t someone want content warnings? Content warnings have a complicated relationship with horror. Horror, by its nature, is meant to be disturbing, upsetting, and disgusting. Many people who engage with horror (as both writers and audience) find content warnings to be frustrating, as they can ruin some of the surprise and shock value in certain works of horror. In other cases, content warnings can spoil surprises or twists within a story. For this reason, many creators choose to have their content warnings placed in the back of the book or in their own special page in a game menu so that people can check them on their own terms without spoiling the story for everyone. Some people also make a general ‘Viewer Discretion is advised’ notice with directions to locate the content warnings if needed.
How do I include content warnings? There are several different ways to include content warnings, but the best practice is to have them somewhere easily accessible for those who need them, while having them not in the way for those who don’t want them.
On your project page:
If you want to list the content warnings directly: Within your project description, simply provide a bulleted list of themes that appear within your work. This list can be anywhere in your project description.
Example: CONTENT WARNINGS
- Body horror
- Extreme gore
- Ableism
- Animal Death
Your list can be in any order you choose. Some people prefer to put them in alphabetical order or in some other kind of order, and some are in no order at all.
If you do not want to list content warnings directly: Within your description, have a warning somewhere stating that the project is horror and includes dark themes.
Example: This project is a work of horror and includes dark themes and topics. Viewer discretion is advised.
In the work itself:
If you want to be direct with your content warnings, you can put a list at the beginning of your book or as a splash screen at the start of your game. You can use the bullet point method, or have a paragraph explanation.
If you want to be less direct, it again depends on what sort of project you are putting together. For a book, you can have the content warnings at the back of the book, with a note somewhere in the front stating they are available at the end if they are needed. You can also put a note on the table of contents as to where the content warnings are located. For a game, you can have a special tab in the menu which lists the content warnings for people to check when they enter the game.
Am I required to provide content warnings for the jam? No, you are not, but they are highly encouraged. If you choose not to add them, please do have a ‘Viewer discretion is advised’ warning somewhere on your project page. They are not technically required for the bundle either, though there will be a preference towards works which have some amount of warning so that people know what they are getting into.