A straight-talking social media savvy OB/GYN has called out Twitter for banning the word ‘vagina’ in promotional ads.
Dr Jen Gunter, 53, took to the platform to question why the word was deemed inappropriate after Kensington Books tried to run paid advertising for The Vagina Bible, her book about the female anatomy.
The San Francisco-based doctor directly questioned Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, 42, whom she tagged in her tweet, asking why the word vagina – which she points out is ‘an anatomical term not a dirty word’ – couldn’t be used.
Internet gyno: Dr Jen Gunter, 53, slammed Twitter for not allowing the word vagina to be used in promotional ads on the basis that it is a ‘dirty word’
Blocked: Kensington Books, Dr Gunter’s publisher, said they were unable to use the anatomically-correct word in a promotional ad on social media
‘Our societal inability to say vagina like we say elbow is one reason I insisted on vagina in the title,’ the medical expert further stated.
‘When we’re not allowed to say a word the implication is it’s dirty or shameful. Not being able to buy an ad because of the word vagina for a book about vaginas is ridiculous.’
Dr Gunter’s tweet attracted hundreds of angry responses, from users who slammed the hypocrisy that people can and do tweet any kind of vitriol or abuse they wanted without being reprimanded.
‘Are you kidding me? Myself and every woman I know is called a c**t on here at least once/day without punishment, but they won’t allow vagina,’ questioned one user.
Excitement: Dr Gunter’s demystifying book about the vagina has been highly anticipated
Praise: Dr Gunter has been praised online by some of her 200,000 followers on Twitter, who thanked her for writing ‘a book by a woman for women’
‘So, the Primatologist I follow can talk about monkey sex on Twitter all day long (which she should be free to do!) but a gynecologist can’t talk about vaginas? [Wtaf]? That is some 5th level misogyny right there,’ a California-based male user said.
Another simply posed, ‘Is your Publisher allowed to say the word penis? Asking for a friend’.
Dr Gunter’s highly-anticipated book is aiming to help demystify the false facts that women are bombarded with on a daily basis pertaining to their sexual and reproductive health.
‘I’m really just trying to give women information so they can make informed choices,’ Dr Gunter told NPR recently. ‘Misinformation is the opposite of feminism. Making an empowered decision requires accurate information.’
Her book comes off the back of the wildly successful blog, Wielding the Lassoo of Truth, which she started a decade ago.
Support: Social media users jumped to Dr Gunter’s defence, calling out how ridiculous it was for Twitter to not allow the word vagina with everything else that passes on the platform
LOL: The debate in the comments led to this hilarious exchange
Dr Gunter, sometimes called ‘the internet’s resident gynecologist, would cover topics including abortion – she has slammed President Trump’s views on restricting American women’s reproductive rights and access to late abortions – and even whether women should eat the placenta.
Klaxon: After regularly calling out non-evidence-based statements, Dr Gunter became the go-to expert online for all things related to vaginal health
Her position as the internet’s go-to truth speaking maverick came when she took on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop wellness empire and slammed their endorsement of vaginal steaming and products like jade eggs intended for insertion into the vagina to ‘cultivate sexual energy’.
At the time, she publicly called it ‘a load of garbage’, warning women that these $66 eggs ‘could cause an infection’.
Her outcry was enough for people to pay attention. In 2018, Goop paid $145,000 to settle a civil law suit in California for making claims not backed by scientific evidence and agreed to refund women who had bought the eggs.
When reality star Khloé Kardashian recommended women use vitamin E oil to moisturize and ‘strengthen’ their vaginal walls, Dr Gunter responded, ‘You should absolutely not do this,’ warning that the effect of the oil on the vagina’s protective bacteria and lining is unknown.
Routinely calling out non-evidence-based wisdoms about vaginal health ultimately led to Dr Gunter being offered two regular health columns with the New York Times.
She recently told the Daily Mail that she is still livid after Goop’s team called her ‘strangely confident’ about how the vagina works. The brand also claimed that they were the reason she had such a high profile as a medic.
‘Like they did my medical school, residency and fellowship then helped me practice for 24 years?’ she said. ‘I guess they wrote all my posts and columns as well.’