WRITING CONTROVERSIAL & TABOO CONTENT: PROS & CONS

Content writing involves writing about various aspects. An efficient content writer writes about almost everything which can be useful for its readers. It means he is unshrinking in writing controversial and taboo content too. In this blog, we are going to talk about distinct taboos, controversies and their association with content writing. All the answers related to content writing about taboos shall be found in this blog.

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There are a lot of taboos in cultures and traditions all over the world. Also, there are innumerable controversies regarding one or the other thing. Not many content writers talk about them openly. There are many instances where comments and opinions about such topics have caused disturbances. Though there are also certain examples where writing controversial and taboo content has proven to be beneficial. Let us get into the details and discuss all the aspects one by one.

What are taboos and controversies?

First of all, it is very significant for us to know “What is taboo content writing?”.

A Taboo can be described as an act that is considered as “sacred” or “prohibited” in a particular society. In simple words, taboo is anything which is either forbidden or holy. Different societies and cultures have different taboos. Taboos are based on a group’s religious beliefs. The taboos of one culture might be completely different from the others. Taboos are widely accepted by people of the same group. There are people who are in favour and against of any specific taboo. This is because belief system varies. People generally justify their choices with the help of their morals and ethics. Not to forget that ethics are subjective. Therefore, there is a lot of conflict between different groups regarding taboos.

A controversy can be defined as an act or a topics which involved public conflict or disagreement. In other words, a controversy is something which grabs people’s attention for not being correct according to them. Any happening which might become talk of the town for some odd reasons can also be known as a controversy. Controversies are generally known as “heated discussions”. A number of controversies take place every day in one or the other part of the world.

Some of the major taboos and controversies today

There is no end to the list of taboos. In order to understand the concept of taboos properly, we must look at some of its examples in India.

• Menstruation: Talking about a natural phenomenon like menstruation is still a taboo. Not only people in many parts of India but other countries too, forbid talking about menstruation.
• Homosexuality: Homosexuality has been a taboo since time unknown. Many people believe that it is immoral. Even the Catholic view is that gay sex is impermissible.
• Inter caste marriages: One of the major taboos is inter-caste marriages. Parents in many parts of India do not want to get their children married with people from other castes. This act is considered as unholy by them.

Relatively less rigid, controversies come and go. But here are some controversies which gained a lot of attention at one time.

• Sridevi’s death: The unexpected death of Bollywood actress, Sridevi became a big controversy. It was all over the media when the news came out. There were doubts and suspects regarding her accident. Questions were raised even on her husband. There was a lot of chaos and conflict among people about the incident. So, this news proved out to be a huge controversy.
• Snapchat’s CEO’s statement: Remember when the snapchat’s CEO called India a poor country? Millions of people uninstalled snapchat in order to show their anger towards him. His statement about India became a big controversy because people strongly disagreed with him.
• Padmavati: A lot of people from the Rajput community raised their voice against this issue. People believed that the story of the movie “padmavati” was false. They felt that their history was being manipulated and displayed in a wrong manner. Padmavati, for sure, is one of the largest controversies till date. This is because of the opposition by so many people.

Why taboos are not talked about much? (cons)

It can be easily seen that writing controversial and taboo content is not so common. It is very important to get into the roots of this issue. A lot of content creators avoid writing about taboos. This is mainly because they are afraid to write about forbidden topics. They are scared of talking about controversies, although, it can drastically increase the traffic on their blogs. Let us read about the reasons that terrify them:

• People might oppose! They may have this fear that a large group of people might not agree with their view point. Such people can even create a new controversy involving the content writers because of the disagreement. Opposition from a large group can even lead to physical violence. Violence is much common in controversies.
• Risk with career: Being opposed by communities can even put their career at risk. Content writers might be afraid of their downfall. After all, who wants not to be on a safer side of their career?
• Maintaining the respect in society: Talking about something, which can offend people is a risky business. Even one’s respect and dignity in society gets into danger at such a point. Negative publicity can adversely affect a person’s life. It can make living in a society a big challenge.

Why taboos and controversies should be discussed (pros)

Writing controversial and taboo content has some disadvantages. But each coin has two faces. Below are some advantages of openly discussing taboos and controversies.

• More and more traffic: Openly talking about taboos can bring tons of traffic to your website. This can subsequently help in reaching higher rankings in SERP. People might agree with your perceptions. People might oppose your views. But in both the cases, people will read what you’ve written. It will surely boost your blog’s number of viewers.
• Chances that people will like your opinion: There are great chances that a lot of people will agree with you. This is because many people think alike. And if your readers generally relate with your content, then it is your chance. You can easily pick up this opportunity and create a bond with the people who are on the same side as you. You will attract more and more people who have a perception like you. This will only increase your blog family.
• Publicity: People are likely to oppose you. But even their opposition can make you and your blog more popular than ever. This publicity will attract people towards you. Especially more people with same thoughts will get to know about you through this medium.
• More respect in the society: This point seems to be contradicting “Maintaining respect in society” but as they say, “Every coin is double faced”. Writing controversial and taboo content can reflect your personality as fierce. A lot of people will certainly like your carefree and fearless attitude. You will be writing about something which others are afraid to. Isn’t this a great opportunity to, increase traffic with controversial topics? Also, ample of people will respect you for your valiant persona.
• Create awareness: Many people do not get aware about various taboos of our society. This is because nobody wants to write about such topics. But writing about taboos can create awareness among people. This would help in eradication of meaningless taboos which are only a burden on the society. This is one of the best things that a writer can do with his powers of persuasion.

These points analyzed almost each aspect of writing controversial and taboo content. The interpretation of these points was from a general as well as an individual’s point of view. At the end of this blog, we’ve come to terms with ‘What is taboo content writing’.

One point of conclusion, which can clearly be drawn from the pros and cons is that one can always increase traffic with controversial topics. Content creators should more openly talk about taboos and controversies. Although, such topics should be written with care. This would be helpful in avoiding any clashes among groups. Check out our next blog about PROFESSIONAL MARKETING WRITING: DIFFERENT FROM CONTENT WRITING.