• Feminist conference says clapping ‘triggers anxiety,’ asks attendees to use ‘jazz hands’ instead
    192 replies, posted
This is pretty clearly just some power mad organizers wanting to prove to themselves that they can influence behavior in others.
Walking into a roomful of people doing jazz hands silently would make me more anxious than applause.
I mean, I do get anxious if I'm surrounded by large groups of people in situations like that, but I would feel like a right plank if I asked a whole room of people to be quiet just so I didn't bite my fingernails down a bit
[IMG]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/saltypedia/images/2/24/Alteramibastance.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130809205528[/IMG] JAZZ HANDS
I feel saying jazz hands for applause insults the ASL community and the language itself. I take that call back, all of the deaf community not just americans.
snip
I can't believe this is not satire.
Okay, but what if I get anxiety attacks from embarrassment, being in a room full of people doing jazz hands? I'd never get to visit such a conference. That's exclusion in its blatant form.
Please do show any form of reaction, as smiling, movement, and breathing are all my triggers. If you think I'm kidding then maybe it's time you checked your privilege.
[QUOTE=Pelican;47392552]friendly reminder that people here WILL defend this - I don't know how, but someone will find a way there'll be the usual suspects like starlight456 who dumb every post, but thats as much as I can predict[/QUOTE] If I'm not mistaken this is a thing at conferences where the attendants are either likely to get sensory overload from it or can't hear the clapping, in which case it does make sense to replace it in this way. I'm 99% they lifted this from the former due to their justification (but I'm actually not even sure how common it's there), but it's pretty unjustifiable if [URL="https://thebrainsciencecritic.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/clapping-ban-suffering-and-the-left/"]even someone who'd benefit a lot from it still thinks it's monumentally stupid and mostly a sign of manipulation[/URL].
I seriously expected this article to be satire/parody ala "The Onion". Just the whole "no clapping only jazz hands" rule this conference is proposing is just making a mockery of people who suffer from PTSD. These are probably the same people who complain about "manspreading" and that eating food from another culture is serious cultural appropriation.
i know this sweet girl who locks up in shock from loud unexpected noise like clapping, this is a real thing for some people.
[quote]NUS [URL="https://twitter.com/nuswomcam/status/580329723584253952"]sent out a similar tweet[/URL] earlier in the day that also discouraged “whooping.” “Whooping is fun for some, but can be super inaccessible for others, so please try not to whoop! Jazz hands work just as well #nuswomen15,” they said.[/quote] I think [URL="https://twitter.com/nuswomcam/status/580329723584253952"]the reaction on Twitte[/URL][URL="https://archive.today/lfkBK"]r[/URL] sums it up pretty well.
[QUOTE=sourcegamer101;47392510]this article just triggered me[/QUOTE] This reply just triggered me
[QUOTE=scorpinat;47392804]i know this sweet girl who locks up in shock from loud unexpected noise like clapping, this is a real thing for some people.[/QUOTE] Why would someone who knows that clapping affects them like that consider going to an event wherein there'll be a lot of people clapping?
Please stop using the word Feminist, it triggers me
I don't want to live in a world where I can't even clap because it offends and triggers people. Fuck this noise.
[QUOTE=geogzm;47392505]if i walked in to a room full of people throwing up the jazz hands i'd have some form of anxiety attack[/QUOTE] That is a mental image I would want to experience firsthand.
[QUOTE=scorpinat;47392804]i know this sweet girl who locks up in shock from loud unexpected noise like clapping, this is a real thing for some people.[/QUOTE] Clapping, as in applause, at a conference is hardly a sharp unexpected noise though.
There's also the 'ass hands' The premise of it is to rub your hands on the subject's ass
I don't know if anybody else here is a performer, but for me at least total silence after I've finished a performance would signify 'Stunned silence in a [I]very[/I] bad way'. Like, I'd just said something horribly racist. What about blind people? How do they even know that anybody's appreciating what they've said? I know it sounds silly, but applause is hardly harmful, and I've rarely seen any rounds of applause which are hugely spontaneous. They tend to take a second or two to 'warm up'.
[QUOTE=Viper123_SWE;47392631]Soon these extreme feminists are gonna get triggered by the very prescence of people... Like seriously? Triggered by clapping? They might as well be triggered by footsteps or bretahing.[/QUOTE] what's even extreme about this? this is like the most milquetoast thing anyone's ever said at a feminist conference. it may or may not be stupid (it's probably fine since it's an actual alternative for deaf people) but it's still a pretty inoffensive thing to do either way. they were politely asked not to clap and they stopped without issue, that's just being considerate as far as i'm concerned
Literally anything can, potentially, trigger anxiety. It's probably better to work on a case-by-case basis than create blanket rules which attempt to wrap the entire world in cotton wool.
[QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;47392875]Why would someone who knows that clapping affects them like that consider going to an event wherein there'll be a lot of people clapping?[/QUOTE] ...Maybe because the organizers might suggest people not clap, and it being a conference already predisposed to that kind of change-everyone-to-accommodate-a-few policy, they might do it? I mean, you're kind of answering your own question here, considering the OP is about the conference trying to make it an event wherein there won't be a lot of people clapping. [QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47392916]I don't want to live in a world where I can't even clap because it offends and triggers people. Fuck this noise.[/QUOTE] Okay see this is what I don't get They're not demanding everyone in the world stop clapping, they're making their own policy for their own conference. So if it bothers you then just don't go? What does it matter to you what a group of feminists are voluntarily doing amongst themselves?
Let's not focus on the stupidity of a ban on clapping. Let's instead focus on the fact that an entire group of people will show appreciation via jazz hands.
Maybe people who are made uncomfortable by large crowds and loud noises should avoid large crowds and loud noises? It's not like they shouldn't have expected applause, it's a fucking conference. [editline]25th March 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=catbarf;47392985]...Maybe because the organizers might suggest people not clap, and it being a conference already predisposed to that kind of change-everyone-to-accommodate-a-few policy, they might do it? I mean, you're kind of answering your own question here, considering the OP is about the conference trying to make it an event wherein there won't be a lot of people clapping. Okay see this is what I don't get They're not demanding everyone stop clapping, they're doing it for their own special hugbox event. So if it bothers you then just don't go? What does it matter to you what hardline feminists are doing amongst themselves?[/QUOTE] It doesn't matter, but thankfully I live in a country where I have the freedom to post my opinion on such things, so I did.
[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47392916]I don't want to live in a world where I can't even clap because it offends and triggers people. Fuck this noise.[/QUOTE] This isn't a matter of offense, though. I think this is stupid, don't get me wrong, but it has everything to do with the actual triggers which people develop as a result of PTSD, and nothing to do with the 'tumblrised' definition which is bandied around a lot. These kind of noises [I]can[/I] trigger flashbacks and panic attacks in people who suffer from PTSD. I think we're all aware of the idea of veterans having a bad time on bonfire night (or the fourth of July, I guess). It's important to realise, though, that recognising and managing one's triggers is a major step to getting a handle on one's PTSD, and part of managing them is learning what environments are likely to cause problems. Veterans are going to want to avoid firing ranges, victims of sexual abuse are likely to want to avoid being alone in close proximity with strangers. I can appreciate the sentiment of "we don't want to exclude anyone" on the part of the organisers, but I would argue that anyone who goes to such an event, with the knowledge that applause will trigger them, is acting irresponsibly.
[QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;47393013]This isn't a matter of offense, though. I think this is stupid, don't get me wrong, but it has everything to do with the actual triggers which people develop as a result of PTSD, and nothing to do with the 'tumblrised' definition which is bandied around a lot. These kind of noises [I]can[/I] trigger flashbacks and panic attacks in people who suffer from PTSD. I think we're all aware of the idea of veterans having a bad time on bonfire night (or the fourth of July, I guess). It's important to realise, though, that recognising and managing one's triggers is a major step to getting a handle on one's PTSD, and part of managing them is learning what environments are likely to cause problems. Veterans are going to want to avoid firing ranges, victims of sexual abuse are likely to want to avoid being alone in close proximity with strangers. I can appreciate the sentiment of "we don't want to exclude anyone" on the part of the organisers, but I would argue that anyone who goes to such an event, with the knowledge that applause will trigger them, is acting irresponsibly.[/QUOTE] So why has clapping at conferences literally never been a problem before? I'm not saying that it can't be a problem for some people but we're talking about a conference, clapping goes with the territory, and if you're so skittish that loud clapping can set you off then you definitely shouldn't be at a conference for fear someone might shout/clap/whistle/whoop/cheer/cough/sneeze/have an alarm on their phone go off/talk loudly near you. Seriously is this actually the point we're getting to where we have to keep all sounds below a certain decibel level because someone might almost literally lose their shit? What the fuck happens to these people if a car back fires? Or a bus drives past them?
[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47392991]Maybe people who are made uncomfortable by large crowds and loud noises should avoid large crowds and loud noises? [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;47393013]but I would argue that anyone who goes to such an event, with the knowledge that applause will trigger them, is acting irresponsibly.[/QUOTE] 'Hi I'd like to go to your conference but I and several other people have PTSD triggered by noises like clapping and so believe it would be unwise to attend' 'Oh well why don't we just ask people not to clap, that way everyone can be included and surely fellow feminists will not be offended over being politely asked to use an alternative to clapping' The end? I mean it's not like they're going and complaining after the fact that people were clapping at a conference. Would it be ridiculous if a 4th of July barbeque for veterans politely asked people not to bring fireworks, because it could trigger the PTSD of some servicemen?
[QUOTE=catbarf;47393056] Would it be ridiculous if a 4th of July [b]barbeque for veterans[/b] politely asked people not to bring fireworks, because it could trigger the PTSD of some servicemen?[/QUOTE] No. However, some random conference that has zero to do with PTSD or anxiety issues asking people not to clap for the sake of people who will most likely not attend anyway... It isn't hurtful or wrong per se. It's just stupid.
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