A new campaign from period products brand Bodyform has been silenced on social media and inaccurately labelled as 'sexual content', due to its use of proper anatomical words such as labia majora, vagina and vulva. Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, it is still the year 2023 (not 2012 when we were trying to #FreeTheNipple... which, as we all know, still hasn't happened).
Following the censorship, Bodyform have also shared a list highlighting forty words relating to female health and wellbeing that are routinely silenced by the likes of Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and offline within wider society too. Words on the list range from discharge to miscarriage to PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).
Earlier today, an advert using the words 'menstrual cycle' and featuring the image of a sanitary towel and blood, was rejected by Facebook, with the reasoning offered being: "ads promoting sexual and reproductive health services, such as contraception and family planning, must be targeted to people aged 18 and older, and must not focus on sexual pleasure".
New research from Bodyform (on 2,000 people) also shows that 46% of us feel there's a stigma attached to using medical terminology when describing anatomy, leaving just 20% 'comfortable' discussing their own bodies – and sadly, the (mental and physical) health repercussions of this can't be glossed over. It's a cause that cancer-related charities and sex educators have been fighting to change for years, stressing that the more empowered people are to talk about their bodies (and the more educated they are about them), the more likely they'll be to share any concerns, seek a diagnosis or even life-saving treatment.
Moderating language in this way, and banning words that are quite literally just medically accurate, simply feeds into the seemingly never-ending cycle of shame surrounding the female body. Anyone else feeling exhausted by it all?
To kickstart its forty day-long campaign, Bodyform shared an image of their advert at a bus stop showing a woman holding a mirror up to her genitals with the word 'vagina' over the front. However, some have critiqued the poster for perpetuating confusion around the fact that the vagina is an internal organ ("it literally has the word 'in' in it"), whereas the vulva is what would actually be visible in the mirror.
Everyone's clicking on...
In response, a spokesperson replied: "We definitely understand and didn't intend to cause any confusion. 'Vagina' is the most censored word on social media so we wanted to use it in a really attention-grabbing way to make people aware of this. However, as you can appreciate, it's challenging to do this with an internal part of the body, so this is how we've chosen to portray it."
Many sex educators also commented on the Instagram post, sharing stories about having their own accounts shadowbanned [wherein reach and content is suppressed] for using the word 'vagina' too: "Yup! I got shadowbanned for sexual content after doing a story thread on vaginal health," commented LalalaLetMeExplain, the popular sex and relationships blogger. "Yet when I report content that shows or glorifies sexual violence I'm always told that it 'doesn't breach community guidelines'!"
Another aspect of the Bodyform campaign saw them ask members of the public to define the forty words on the 'taboo' list as part of a video compilation, but ironically the video was reportedly removed from both Facebook and Twitter after just half an hour.
Cosmopolitan UK reached out to Meta and TikTok for comment, but received no response ahead of publication, however TikTok did share a comment with Bodyform saying "educational content relating to women's health is welcome on our platform, and we are continually improving our processes to better address potentially problematic content while minimising incorrect removals... We are open about the fact that we don't always get every decision right, which is why we continue to invest at scale in our safety operations".
It's disappointing that this over-sexualising and censoring of women and female-presenting non-binary people, whilst nothing new, is allowed to continue even when it impacts our health and wellbeing – as well as our finances, freedom of expression and ability to connect with others. It's time the social powerhouse platforms step their game up, and take a harder look at the facts.
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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
