Protest at Facebook HQ over 'censorship' of women's health issues
- 10 months ago
Demonstrators descended on Meta’s London office this morning (Fri) to protest at the alleged censorship of women’s health issues on Facebook.
Women held up signs reading “Let us mind our lady business”, “Get Ovary it Meta’ and ‘Words Meta’ in reference to the platform’s handling of language relating to the female body.
BBC Three presenter Cherry Healey, 43, joined the group and spoke about the potential for social media to teach her 13-year-old daughter about her health.
The protest was organised by Bodyform after its adverts featuring words such as ‘vagina’ and ‘menstrual cycle’ were rejected as sexual content by Facebook.
Organisers claim the policy restricts the ability of women to openly discuss their personal issues online.
Meta says the adverts were removed by mistake and have since been reinstated.
Women from multiple organisations joined forces outside Meta’s UK HQ in King’s Cross to have their voices heard and normalise conversations about the female body.
The protest started at 7.30am but it took just 10 minutes before security shutters lowered and they were confronted by security staff.
Ms Healey said: "Today was really powerful, it’s so frustrating that we are censored and it’s so unnecessary.
"With the technology we have and the algorithm, surely we can stop words such as endometriosis and vagina and vulva and period being censored?
“Surely there is a way to separate words that are offensive, and those that are gynaecological."
She added: “I have a 13 year-old daughter and I want her to live in a world where she goes on social media and she doesn’t just see posts about what people have had for breakfast or what you’re wearing.
“Although they’re fun, and I love watching them, and I make them, I also want her to be educated about the signs of cancer, what are the five gynaecological cancers?
“I want her to know, okay, I’m a bit bloated and I have intermittent bleeding and I’ve lost my appetite. Oh, actually that might be a reason to go and see my GP.
“I’m really passionate about women’s health, really passionate about honest conversations, and the fact Bodyform is supporting that with this much commitment makes me feel very happy to be part of their gang.
“It was so empowering seeing those people protesting today, we know there’s a problem, we know it’s based in misogyny, so how do we fight it?
"To see a group of people who have got together and want to change that makes me feel more confident about the world we live in."
She added: “I thought it was quite interesting when Meta put the great big grey shutters down very slowly behind the protest.
"I thought that was very symbolic - the shutters shutting out the noise, shutting out people telling them what they want."
Research of 2,000 women by Bodyform found there are around 40 words - including menopause, miscarriage, vulva and discharge - that are censored on social media.
Women held up signs reading “Let us mind our lady business”, “Get Ovary it Meta’ and ‘Words Meta’ in reference to the platform’s handling of language relating to the female body.
BBC Three presenter Cherry Healey, 43, joined the group and spoke about the potential for social media to teach her 13-year-old daughter about her health.
The protest was organised by Bodyform after its adverts featuring words such as ‘vagina’ and ‘menstrual cycle’ were rejected as sexual content by Facebook.
Organisers claim the policy restricts the ability of women to openly discuss their personal issues online.
Meta says the adverts were removed by mistake and have since been reinstated.
Women from multiple organisations joined forces outside Meta’s UK HQ in King’s Cross to have their voices heard and normalise conversations about the female body.
The protest started at 7.30am but it took just 10 minutes before security shutters lowered and they were confronted by security staff.
Ms Healey said: "Today was really powerful, it’s so frustrating that we are censored and it’s so unnecessary.
"With the technology we have and the algorithm, surely we can stop words such as endometriosis and vagina and vulva and period being censored?
“Surely there is a way to separate words that are offensive, and those that are gynaecological."
She added: “I have a 13 year-old daughter and I want her to live in a world where she goes on social media and she doesn’t just see posts about what people have had for breakfast or what you’re wearing.
“Although they’re fun, and I love watching them, and I make them, I also want her to be educated about the signs of cancer, what are the five gynaecological cancers?
“I want her to know, okay, I’m a bit bloated and I have intermittent bleeding and I’ve lost my appetite. Oh, actually that might be a reason to go and see my GP.
“I’m really passionate about women’s health, really passionate about honest conversations, and the fact Bodyform is supporting that with this much commitment makes me feel very happy to be part of their gang.
“It was so empowering seeing those people protesting today, we know there’s a problem, we know it’s based in misogyny, so how do we fight it?
"To see a group of people who have got together and want to change that makes me feel more confident about the world we live in."
She added: “I thought it was quite interesting when Meta put the great big grey shutters down very slowly behind the protest.
"I thought that was very symbolic - the shutters shutting out the noise, shutting out people telling them what they want."
Research of 2,000 women by Bodyform found there are around 40 words - including menopause, miscarriage, vulva and discharge - that are censored on social media.