In addition to including common trigger warnings, we are trying to be inclusive of disabled people in the way we approach listing the warnings regarding hatred towards queer people.

For these trigger warnings we attempt to include both the more common and well-known suffix –phobia and the lesser-known suffix –misia. We have elected to keep using –phobia due to its wide acceptance and the resulting ease of understanding. A trigger warning is useless if people cannot tell what it is warning for.

However disability activists have been speaking out against the use of –phobia for a while. It is a term most commonly used to describe a medical condition as it affects people’s mental health, such as agoraphobia. Bigotry is emphatically not a mental illness, yet the suffix links the two and perpetuates the idea that mental illness causes bigotry or is, at least, related.

As such, various alternatives to the suffix have been proposed. We have elected to include the alternative –misia due to its similar structure and because it is relatively more well-known than other alternatives. The suffix comes from Ancient Greek μῖσος (‘hate’ or ‘hatred of’) and English also used it as a prefix in other words such as ‘misogyny’ and ‘misanthropy’. Neither term is perfect, but we believe that the suffix –misia better illustrates what bigotry is and does not further the stigmatization of mental illnesses.

If you have recommendations for where we can make additions regarding any additional warnings in regards to hatred of lgbtqiap+ identities in any of these books please email us at queerbooksforteens.com