--- title: Why are women’s health ads getting rejected? - The Hustle description: Women’s health startups are struggling to get ads on social media platforms. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp --- # Why are women’s health ads getting rejected? ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: June 10, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 A 2021 [study](https://www.intimacyjustice.org/) by the Center for Intimacy Justice surveyed 60 health-oriented businesses serving women and people of diverse genders. ![Why are women’s health ads getting rejected?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp) All had an ad rejected by Meta, and half said their accounts were suspended for supposedly violating policies. Rejected ads included breastfeeding workshops and devices to strengthen the pelvic floor, which can prevent incontinence. Meanwhile, ads for erectile dysfunction and manscaping were allowed. #### **Why?** Meta labeled them as containing or promoting adult content or products, [per](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/style/facebook-womens-sexual-health-advertising.html) *The* *New York Times*. Meta [prohibits](https://www.facebook.com/policies_center/ads/prohibited_content/adult_products_or_services) ads that promote sexual pleasure, but allows ads for family planning or sexual wellness. A Meta spokesperson told the* NYT *that it sometimes makes mistakes when enforcing policies and has overturned several rejections. But Meta wouldn’t explain the reasoning behind some rejections, claiming people might try to bypass policies. #### **The last few years…** … have seen a boom in sexual wellness products and [femtech](https://thehustle.co/03292022-femtech/). But according to Bethany Corbin, an attorney who specializes in health care and femtech, the algorithms haven’t caught up. “I think part of it goes back to the long-term stigma and taboo that has surrounded all types of conversations about women’s health,” she told *The Hustle*. She said she often sees ads banned when they’re not specifically about family planning, and a conflation between women’s health and being provocative. And because anatomically correct terms are often flagged, advertisers are forced to use “cheeky” terms or fruit emojis — further reinforcing the stigma. #### **So, what’s next?** Continued conversions and awareness about women’s health to increase social acceptance and pressure platforms to retrain algorithms and moderators. “It’s hard to demand that our advertising platforms change in a way that society hasn’t,” Corbin said. Topics: [Health And Wellness](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/health-and-wellness) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Cold plunges and testosterone parties](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/579308696-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-testosterone_20231002233122.webp) ### Cold plunges and testosterone parties - ![Weight loss drugs and the pre-existing condition of being American](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1098552693-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Pharma_20230914213443.webp) ### Weight loss drugs and the pre-existing condition of being American - ![What’s kratom, and why is it in trouble?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/740401164-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-kratom_20230725221327.webp) ### What’s kratom, and why is it in trouble? - ![Is wellness the new airline miles?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1368662680-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay2012202023ness.webp) ### Is wellness the new airline miles? - ![Can games protect our brains?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/407368755-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-20T223649.443Z-scaled.webp) ### Can games protect our brains? - ![WFH? What about… work from gym?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1151869202-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-17T232801.881Z.webp) ### WFH? What about… work from gym? - ![The psychedelic mushroom biz is simmering](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135744458-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-25T003558.611Z-scaled.webp) ### The psychedelic mushroom biz is simmering - ![This startup re-engineered the tampon](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1123397776-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-31T225954.255Z.webp) ### This startup re-engineered the tampon - ![The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp) ### The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral - ![Are wearables the future of health care?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1991298903-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-10T004611.616Z.webp) ### Are wearables the future of health care? Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "datePublished" : "2022-06-10T06:24:34.000Z", "headline" : "Why are women’s health ads getting rejected?", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/06102022-womens-health-ads", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T20:01:46+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-06-10T06:24:34+0000", "headline" : "Why are women’s health ads getting rejected?", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```