The ad wasn’t graphic. It had no sign of nudity. There were only pink visuals, a calm voiceover, and a message to girls about vaginal dryness.

But for Facebook/Meta’s content moderation team, that was enough to label it “adult content” and take it down from view.

Just imagine scrolling through your Facebook feed; between videos of pranks and protein shakes, you stop on a video of a woman gently massaging her C-section scar and confidently showing off her postpartum body.

She’s not showing anything off. She’s healing. In the caption, she shares her recovery journey after hours of agonising labour.

Hours later, the post was removed, saying it had “violated community guidelines”.

Depending on the “severity” and “frequency” of these posts, they may even consider banning or disabling the user’s account.

There is no explanation, just another reminder that a woman’s pain and suffering are too explicit for public consumption.

Across various social media platforms, from Facebook to LinkedIn, content related to women’s health is routinely censored.

Content on sexual health, menopause, and maternal care is being removed from the very platforms where women most need access to it.

Meanwhile, advertisements for male sexual health products, such as erectile dysfunction treatments, frequently receive unrestricted promotion.

A recent investigation by The Independent revealed that platforms like Meta, Google, Amazon, and LinkedIn have been accused of systemic bias against women’s health content.

Femtech companies reported that their ads and posts were removed or restricted for promoting “illegal products and services,” even though the content was medically accurate and educational.

For example, a company specialising in lubricants for women experiencing painful sex had its educational posts on endometriosis and postnatal recovery removed from LinkedIn.

So what was the reason? Allegedly promoting “illegal products”, in contrast, ads for male libido treatments with explicit language were widely circulated.

A 2025 report by the Centre for Intimacy Justice revealed widespread suppression of sexual and reproductive health content.

The data indicates that 84% of businesses experienced ad rejections on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram), 66% encountered ad rejections on Google, and 64% experienced the removal of product listings from Amazon.

The Roots of Censorship

Digital censorship isn’t a new phenomenon but a longstanding societal discomfort with seeing women’s bodies.

Historically, topics like menstruation and female sexuality were considered taboo, and today, the tech giants designing our algorithms are quietly continuing that silence.

Platforms try to justify content removal by citing community standards or automated moderation systems.

However, these systems frequently lack the ability to differentiate between explicit content and educational material, leading to the inevitable censorship of women’s health topics in the media.

The Implications It Can Have On Women

Restricting content on reproductive and sexual health can have serious consequences for women’s well-being and access to vital information.

Especially in regions where access to healthcare information is strictly limited.

A study conducted by MSI Reproductive Choices highlighted that Meta and Google have been accused of restricting reproductive health information in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Countries like Ghana and Mexico removed educational content about contraception and abortion services, while allowing misinformation to remain unchecked.

Demanding Change

In response to these challenges, femtech companies are calling for transparency.

Campaigns like CensHERship aim to highlight the disparities in content moderation and push for equitable treatment of women’s health topics online.

Co-founders of the anti-censorship campaign group CensHERship, Clio Wood and Anna O’Sullivan, emphasised the significance of altering the treatment of women’s health online.

“Women are not being allowed to own the narrative around their bodies; female bodies are viewed through the lens of male sexuality, and female-led brands cannot grow.

 “Women are missing out on potentially life-saving information from charity and women’s health campaigns,” she says.

Moving Forward

As digital platforms play a central role in censoring information, ensuring that women’s health topics are treated with the same legitimacy and respect as other medical content is essential.

It’s not just fair advertising; it’s about reassuring women that their bodies deserve to be seen, heard, and valued.