Twitter and Facebook under fire for removing the word ‘vagina’ from ads for gynecology book

London CNN Business — Twitter removed Dr. Jennifer Gunter, a Canadian gynecologist who also contributes to the New York Times, wrote on Twitter Tuesday that her publishers had been blocked from using the word “vagina” in promotional tweets for her new book, “The Vagina Bible.” Gunter, who has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter and frequently uses the social media platform to correct myths about gynecology, tweeted: “Just so you know my publisher is not allowed to use the word ‘vagina’ to promote my book on @twitter. Not being able to buy an ad because of the word vagina for a book about vaginas is ridiculous.” Gunter’s initial tweet quoted an earlier post from Kensington Publishing, publisher of “The Vagina Bible.” The publisher shared a photo of the book’s front cover, writing alongside it: “We aren’t allowed to say the name of this book in the ad, but trust us you want it!” Vida Engstrand, director of communications at Kensington Publishing, told CNN that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram had all blocked ads with the words “vagina,” “vaginal” and “ob-gyn.” One tweet showed a photo of a person touching an orange, linking to a Q&A Gunter conducted about vaginal health for Teen Vogue. @DrJenGunter’s THE VAGINA BIBLE is almost here.” The tweet was blocked for “use of inappropriate language or promoting adult sexual products.” While Twitter has since approved one promoted tweet it initially blocked, which contained the book title as well as the words “vaginal health,” Engstrand told CNN, “We have not, however, received any additional explanation and Twitter has not rolled back its rejections of other posts related to the book.” On Facebook, a post reading: “You read that right! When Kensington Publishing changed the ad to omit the book title, so it read as “a copy of Dr. Jen Gunter’s must-read guide,” the ad was permitted, Engstrand said.