Avestria Ventures’ Post

Women’s sexual wellness brands are still fighting an uphill battle against online censorship simply for trying to reach their target audience. And when platforms restrict a brand’s ability to do paid advertising by censoring that brand’s content, it can make monetization feel like a Sisyphean task. In addition to removing content, some platforms also often restrict or suspend accounts. Even more frustrating for women’s sexual health brands is the prevalence of paid ads for men’s sexual health, which include meds for erectile dysfunction and Viagra. Take the brands Hims and Hers for example. #sexualwellness #censorship #sisypheantask #womenshealth #femtech #wellness #innovation #equity #doublestandards https://lnkd.in/eEwQxAt7

Our friends at the Center for Intimacy Justice (CIJ) are investigating digital censorship, help them map whats happening to digital #SRHR content at Meta, TikTok, Google, and Amazon now! Survey: https://bit.ly/CIJsurvey "CIJ is a women-led nonprofit changing Big Tech platforms’ discriminatory suppression of  sexual and reproductive health information online. Our last research report was published by The New York Times and over 100 media outlets, and we are now undergoing a new research investigations on 4+ tech platforms (Meta, TikTok, Google, and Amazon) regarding censorship of sexual and reproductive health businesses, nonprofits and creators. The 5-10 minute survey is here (https://bit.ly/CIJsurvey), and our original and ideal deadline is Thursday, December 14th. However, we recognize some folks may be receiving this message close to the deadline, and we will seek to include responses received until Wednesday, December 20th. Please reach out to [email protected] if you need more time to participate beyond December 20th." #DigitalRights #DigitalCensorship #DigitalDiscrimination #Rights

🤩 I've previously posted about how celebrities can positively and negatively impact women's issues. On the positive side, Halle Berry has used her star power to advocate for destigmatizing menopause and advancing women's healthcare. On the downside, Drew Barrymore has endorsed Dr. Kellyann’s &ME Peri + Menopause supplements, which make bold claims that give women hope but ultimately waste their money due to their ineffectiveness. 🎤 Christina Aguilera’s sexual wellness brand, #Playground, falls into the positive category. While I am not a medical expert and cannot vouch for the formulations, the lubricant line is “clean,” uses sustainable packaging, and is backed by respected doctors and well-known sexologist Emily Morse. ⚧️ What I love about this brand is that it is female-founded, made specifically for women, and promotes an empowerment message by shedding the stigma around female sexuality. Its mission is to create an open dialogue about sexual wellness, with the female perspective at the forefront. This is crucial, as six out of ten women struggle with arousal issues and sexual discomfort. 🔇 #Playground donates 1% of its proceeds to the #CenterforIntimacyJustice, an organization focused on combating Meta’s discriminatory censorship of sexual health information for women and underrepresented genders. A study conducted by this organization found that 100% of the 60 organizations surveyed had their ads rejected, and 50% had their entire advertising accounts suspended by Meta for promoting what Facebook deemed “adult products and services.” This is not porn - censorship includes informative and relevant content on women’s health issues such as pelvic pain, menopause, fertility, and vaginal health. Appeals can take weeks to months, with many being rejected. 📋 I support what #Playground is trying to accomplish and the female-empowering voice the brand utilizes. If you want to support the petition urging the FTC to take action against Meta’s discrimination, visit https://lnkd.in/gBAkCiAb. #IntimacyJustice #Sextech #HealthInformation #SexEducation #SexualHealth #WomensBodies #SexualWellness

Maureen Brown's post underscores a significant challenge femtech companies encounter in meeting the health needs of women. This reality extends beyond Linkedin algorithms as well. In a recent project with a femtech company, health insurers we spoke with shared similar concerns when connecting senior members to products that might be viewed as taboo across generational lines. This concern, although valid, can be alleviated through ongoing education about sexual health as an integral component of comprehensive care. Just as mental health has become a crucial part of our overall health and wellbeing, we must destigmatize the language we use about our bodies and address these biases as they arise. Ignoring these difficult topics only exacerbates the harm and limits our ability to connect members with the care they need. This is certainly an important barrier to keep in mind when thinking about go-to-market strategies for these companies.

Imagine advertising a snoring device without being able to use the words nose, nostrils, air or sleep. How would you effectively communicate your device and explain to people the benefits of your product? “The best snoring device designed to move that “you know what” smoothly through your 👃 while you sl**p!” This is what we’ve had to do to build Mosie Baby, mostly organically, because we still can’t advertise on all the platforms. While this has been a point of strength - we have over 70 Million views on our hashtag on TikTok, we frequently live in fear of moments like this - being censored for being what we are. Apparently using anatomically correct language on LinkedIn will get you in trouble. LinkedIn appears to have limited my profile after my last post which used the correct term for the male appendage. I am well aware of the need to speak in code about our product on other platforms. We often use “seggs” instead of sex, eggplant emojis as innuendo, and we have to be extremely thoughtful when discussing lady parts - instead we say things like “lady parts”. We have had to train ad agencies on how to appeal our ad rejections (platforms often think we are pornography or a prescription drug - which we are neither) and have kept track of "trigger" words for various platforms. Meta is doing better these days thanks to Jackie Rotman and the Center for Intimacy Justice's fight to level the playing field for FemTech companies simply trying to advertise their products. But much work remains to be done. Due to the nature of our product I am constantly having to navigate between audiences who can handle anatomically correct language (medical providers and customers) and those who cannot (vendors, social media platforms, and many, but not all, investors and VCs). It gets confusing and when I made my last post, I honestly didn’t think about how it might be perceived by LinkedIn’s algorithms. I reached out to LinkedIn to clarify. While they did have a kind person respond to me, they have not given me a reason beyond “for privacy reasons we're not able to provide you with the exact details in case of any restrictions or violation. I can only advise you to follow the Professional Community Policies ….” Even though they cannot officially tell me what I did wrong, I edited my last post’s use of the word 🍆 Stigma around reproductive health, sexual health, and male and female wellness will continue so long as we cannot talk about our human bodies without shame or repercussion. Have you experienced any censorship on social media or other platforms? I know Lyndsey Harper, MD, FACOG, Lilly Sparks Brittany Barreto, Ph.D. and many others have. I imagine there are many more out there too! #femtech #digitalcensorship #entrepreneur #startup #marketing

Women are being blocked for trying to monetize products and services related to furthering feminine sexual and reproductive health and empowerment in key social media, mainstream media, and advertising ecosystems. Research indicates that all companies in the Fem Tech and Sex Tech ecosystems are experiencing digital suppression or online censorship, with up to half experiencing full ad account suspensions. This is happening while these ecosystems continue to allow for the commodification and total exploitative objectification of femininity. The proliferation of issues such as non-consensual deep-fake pornography and sextortion scams further undermine these ecosystems. Today, Daniela and Lucy are excited to finally deliver an in-person level set on this situation referencing Daniela's recent analysis in her Harvard Law School paper, 'Making Light of Digital and Systemic Suppression of Feminine-Lens Sexual & Reproductive Truth Fueling a Public Health Crisis'. This event is a part of #TechWeek New York - a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. TECH WEEK by a16z We had more interest in the session than anticipated so we will also run the session as a webinar the following week on Tuesday, June 11 starting at 12.30 EST sharing the same information. If you are interested, please DM Daniela Andrade.

Good creative helps your audience consider a behavior change; bad creative does the opposite. These Bumble ads popped up in Los Angeles last week and immediately went viral, for all the wrong reasons. Bumble has been slowly rolling out their rebrand, trying to reconfigure their app and messaging to be more attractive to Gen Z women. These billboards were seemingly an attempt to re-engage lapsed users — many of whom have taken to social media to complain about the misogyny that seems to be native to dating apps. The messaging here, instead of tackling the root cause of the problem, seeks to blame the lapsed users for prioritizing their mental health over engaging in the increasingly toxic online dating culture. Gen Z’s focus on their wellbeing and mental health has to be taken into account when crafting brand messaging. Anything shame-based will never work, and will actively drive this audience segment further away from you. Key takeaway being: if you think you’re going to shame Gen Z into doing *anything*, think again. https://lnkd.in/e6_42eWC

Let us talk about something controversial that shouldn't be controversial. Women's Health advertisements. Apparently, ads targeting women's reproductive health issues are certified as an “R-rated issue.” on social media platforms. The reason for this censorship seems to be the deep #bias that exists in the #content guidelines and #algorithms of social media platforms. Ads relating to women’s health are often restricted, even when the content is educational and non-sexual. There is no end to moral justifications when the big coglomerates are hounded about this bias. The excuse for marking these issues as “sensitive” was presented as trying to be "culturally appropriate" platforms. One needs to ask oneself: Which culture wouldn’t want their women folk to be educated about their health? None is the right answer. You can show a sexualised advertisement of a woman on a billboard, but if it’s about her actual health, you cannot. You can show women semi-naked on the pages of a magazine selling perfumes, but if it’s an advertisement for a product to ease the pain of mastitis, then it cannot even show an illustration of a breast. That is the rule which many advertising agencies and big conglomerates follow. The real consequences of this censorship and discrimination are increasing taboos around women’s health, less awareness, and worsened health outcomes. Due to the lack of awareness of these issues, women may ignore or minimise symptoms until medical intervention is absolutely necessary. Jackie Rotman, CEO and founder of the Center for Intimacy Justice, said, “When it comes to access to health information for people who are going through different life experiences, there’s such a dearth of information available. That type of information is already lacking in the doctor’s office, and then they can’t get it online, because they don’t even realise that certain keywords and search terms are hidden from them.” We must continue to advocate for inclusive policies and transparent guidelines that allow for the free flow of crucial health information. Let’s ensure every woman has access to the knowledge she needs to make informed decisions about her health. Comment below if you have noticed this bias manifest on social media or not. Follow us for more information and join the conversation about women’s health and well-being at House of Adanna. We are a safe-space for every woman and a go-to platform for all information you need as a woman on maintaining good health. 😊 #WomensHealth #Censorship #HealthInformation #Advocacy #Progress #GenderHealthGap

Unbound, a sexual wellness brand backed by SoGal Ventures , had to create a fake brand to prove the point on behalf of rest of us that the onus is not purely on the founder(s) to build a great business but also deeply affected by the barriers from #systemic #biases. The genius of turning the power of #tech & #AI (mired by biased policies) into a mirror of our society's core issues and discomforts. Thank you Polly Rodriguez, Sarah Jayne K. & team! From the article below - "I went out to try to raise a series A and, not to the fault of the venture capitalists, but they’re like, ‘Where are you going to allocate spend?’ And I was like, ‘We’re going to get the policies changed. They’re like, ‘OK, when you do, we’re happy to invest in this series A.” Critical learning lesson and an opportunity for the #investors & #ecosystem to pay attention to the gazillion #barriers that founders face. Please give a hug to a #femalefounder today, especially those who are bravely tackling & #advocating for the long overdue issues like #sexualwellness for women. We need you & we are with you! She Raises Capital, Shalini Sardana (She/Her), Rachel Braun Scherl, Naseem Sayani (she/her), Alice Zheng, Arianne Kidder, Jessica Karr, SteelSky Ventures, 📍Holly Burrow, Anna Radulovski, Alyssa Reisner, Crystal Pirtle Tyler PhD, MPH, Anula Jayasuriya, Female Founders Fund, The Female Quotient, Vithika Yadav, Arti Shukla, Cindy Gallop, Erin Gallagher

Meta has never been consistent about what it allows on it's network/ads. Another case where it's policies and implementations are a mess (and I don't always believe everything I see in press-releases BTW). I have worked with non-profits who are in the Reproductive Health, HIV space. All of this funded by USAID, Gates Foundation, DFID etc.. The objective of these organizations was about education, motivation on safe sex, sexual positivity etc... Condom use, safe-sex, education on how to use the pill, implants, IUDs, helping people choose the right method for them. Got a few ad accounts banned and even had issues with the business accounts because they were 'adult products.' Talking to Meta Reps didn't help in those cases. Reps were just there as an outlet and never really solved issues in these cases. If Meta wants to be credible; and not just sweeping everything under the carpet of community guidelines; it needs to be able to differentiate between what is offensive and what is public health (for the greater good).