Squick

Squick is a term commonly used in fannish discussions about fanworks or professional media that describes anything that is a deep-seated, visceral turn-off for the fan. 
Squicks may be shared by many fans or be specific to one; one person's kink may be another person's squick. It is more frequently used when discussing sexually explicit works or ones involving forms of violence.
For example, some fans may have an embarrassment squick, and do not enjoy works where a character is embarrassed or in an awkward situation. To quote Vee: "Among my kind, "watch from the hall" is what we call the embarrassment squick, because it's so bothersome you can't even watch it through your fingers and have to leave the room when it's happening."
A fan in 1993 said: "Squicking points (things you can't stomach, in case you wondered:-) were also briefly discussed. My personal squicking point seems to be children. Oblique Sextus had a story that I just kept having to put down and hyperventilate to myself, "she isn't *really* going to have him..." comments by Sandy Herrold, from Virgule-L, quoted with permission (June 15, 1993) 
While squick had early uses that meant skullfuckingalt.tasteless.jokes use of 'squick' and a version of YKINMK,BDSM usage of 'squick' in the 90s through fannish drift its usage has evolved to include everything from triggers and visceral turn-offs to 'stuff I don't want to write, read, or receive in a gift exchange'.How was squick used?Yuletide 2018 usage of squickMeta discussing squick in reference to fic exchanges
Fanwork creators also sometimes use the term to describe their own work; as of June 21, 2020 , there are 382 works on AO3 tagged "Squick."Squick tag on AO3. Accessed on August 13, 2018.
In the 2010s, the term appeared to have become less popular, to the point where a 2016 Tumblr post lamented the loss of the "old fandom term." On the other hand, two years later, that post had generated over 38,000 notes, so maybe the rumors of squick's death are greatly exaggerated. 
==Origin==
According to The Foresmutters Project, the term was coined on the Usenet group alt.sex.bondage before 1995."Squick page at The Foresmutters Project (accessed December 9, 2009) Fail_Fandomanon cites alt.tasteless.jokes in 1993 as the source of the term;2017-04-14 comment at fail_fandomanon alt.tasteless.jokes describes it as an onomatopoetic word for a particularly gruesome variation on skullfuckingContrary to popular belief, it does not involve eyesocket fucking, but does involve trepanning. "Geoff Miller comments: I posted that a year ago, and I *made it up!*" Welcome to alt.tasteless! (Monthly Posting), posted by James Limmer on 19 April 1993.. The Foresmutters Project states that, "There are various revolting descriptions of 'what is a squick' floating around the 'net (many propogated from alt.tasteless), but my research indicates that the original usage was, 'someone else's kink.'" The Wiktionary page for the term cites its origins in alt.sex.bondage, and mentions that it was popularized in alt.tasteless.Squick. Last updated on January 21, 2016. Accessed on August 13, 2018.
One fan recalled the term's non-fannish origins in the BDSM community:
It is difficult to know when the term attained enough popular use to be recognized in larger fandom spaces, but a fan in August 1993 used it when she stated: "I also love violence [in fan fiction]. Not all kinds -- some of it squicks me — and not all the time --sometimes I like a happy ending and romance and all that even if it does violate the series atmosphere..." from a fan's trib in Strange Bedfellows #2 Another August 1993 use: "Grievous Bodily Harm [a Professionals fanfic] didn't squick me, at least the catheters didn't." August 13, 1993 comment by [E B] on Virgule-L, this same fan also used "squick" in May 22, 1993 in very personal post to that mailing list In 1998, a fan in an X-Files zine wrote: "A warning sticker may appear in the back of this zine - where it won't spoil things for the toughies, but may help the easily squicked." from Double eXposure. 
The term must have been widely enough used in early spring of 2000 because a journalist used it in a fairly knowledgeable way in the article Gross encounters: on the way to writing a profile of Paul Gross, the author discovers his fans are the real story. Reflections on celebrity worship, Internet love and Canada as the Holy Land: "The women seem tolerant of each other's "squicks" -- what turns one on grosses out another."
According to Fail_Fandomanon, another early use was in a Harry Potter incest fic posted on LiveJournal in 2003., posted by nostrademons, 7 May 2003. (Don't read it if you are remotely sensitive. It is written deliberately to be disturbing.) According to one anon, this story was "the fic that defined squick. The term was around [before fandom got hold of it], but this is the squick fic that made the usage of the word common and widely understood in fandom."2017-04-14 comment in fail_fandomanon The fic, which was deliberately written to be disturbing, included the sex act described in alt.tasteless.jokes's definition of the word squick, though it cited the FictionAlley Park forums as its source.
==Definitions==
For the most part, fans seem to generally agree that "squick" is a largely neutral term to describe something - often a trope or pairing - that doesn't appeal to them, while recognizing that it might appeal to other people. The absence of any kind of "value judgment" is often integral to fans' definitions of the term. 
One fan described "squick" as a kind of shorthand that works primarily communities where there's a degree of implicit trust or civility, as well as a need to easily communicate preferences and boundaries:
While most fans seem to consider "squick" as a successfully neutral term, some feel that there may still be an implicit judgment in the way it's used:
Some fans also emphasize that the onus is on the reader with a particular squick to self-select out of engaging with fanworks that explore or feature that squick:
===Alternate Definitions===
While most fans use "squick" as seen above, alternate definitions have been proposed, suggesting that there may not have always been general consensus about the term's meaning. In particular, this 2006 definition posted to the Fanthropology community seems to describe "squick" as an intentional style or genre of fic that's meant to "gross" a reader out:
==Grammar and Usage==
The word squick can be used as either a noun or a verb. 
The plural of squick is squicks. 
Example: 
* I love reading A/B/O, but it's one of my friend's squicks, so I never rec those fics to her.
The conjugation of squick is squick/squicked/squicked. Squick is often used in phrasal verb form with the preposition 'out'. When used as a phrasal verb, it is separable. 
Examples: 
* This fic is great, but I got super squicked in chapter 5. You'll love it, though!
* I'd love to beta for you, but that ship just squicks me out. Hit me up next time?
==The Differences Between Triggers and Squicks==
Particularly in the context of ongoing conversations about the responsibility to tag potentially sensitive or triggering content in fannish spaces (and whether such content should even have a place in fan communities and archives), "squick" is often lifted up as a necessary piece of fannish vocabulary by fans seeking to draw a distinction between a squick and a trigger. 
==Meta/Further Reading==
* Meta: birth of a squick by stele3
* What makes YOU squick? by cruiscin_lan
* Narrative Squicks - informal poll by sophiap
* The Origin of Squickies by vulgarweed (2006)
* (2016) ("Squicks were respected by fandom. You don’t like the thing, okay, we will tag the thing appropriately, you do not have to read the thing, no judgments on either side. There was no fandom policing, only respect......“Trigger” has become so overused, so all-encompassing, that people feel they have to defend their legitimate triggers....Bring “squick” back, people. Don’t devalue triggers, which are horrible, nasty, dangerous things.")
*Squick by Fangirls Anonymous (May 2021)
==External Links==
*Squick on the TV Tropes wiki
==References==
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