Don’t be a booby

Last year I got several shadow bans and warnings about community violations on my social media account.  All because I was creating art to address life-threatening women’s health issues.  I don’t care about getting less ‘likes’ on my posts, but I do care when women are denied the opportunity for information. 

I’m not the only one, the @censHership white paper found than nearly 95% of women’s health organisations, charities and brands have reported experiencing censorship, suppression or restrictions when discussing women’s health issues on-line.  When posts that provide this service are hidden, restricted or taken down, shame and stigma persist, and prevents women from getting the help that they need. 

In the words of MP Emily Darlington at a debate on Women’s Health and Wellbeing earlier this year in Parliament:

‘Words connected to women’s healthcare are treated as suspect content when they should be treated as healthcare education. That is the same prejudice that women have faced for centuries, simply translated into code. Victorian doctors dismissed women’s suffering as hysteria; today’s algorithms suppress the words that women search when they need to find out whether what is happening to their body is normal. The technology has changed, but the sexism has not.  This censorship has consequences far beyond embarrassment or inconvenience. When trusted information is hidden, misinformation flourishes….poor-quality online health information harms women’s outcomes’

So Instagram, don’t be a booby.  It’s time for you, and all the big tech companies to change your content moderation, so women no longer have to pay the price in shame, pain and in some cases, lost lives. 

Technical information – Hand stitched soft sculpture of a breast with pierced nipple. French knots on linen, blanket stitch on felt. Any perceived resemblance to the Instagram logo is entirely intentional.