Facebook and Twitter have blocked the general public distribution of a file of the magazine Quebec Science which deals with the sexual pleasure of women and their anatomy.
Mélissa Guillemette, editor-in-chief of the science magazine, is dumbfounded.
The article in question, signed by journalist Marine Corniou, begins by emphasizing that “female ejaculation is not a fabrication of pornography, let alone a myth. But like everything related to female anatomy, it has long been neglected by research.
“Research on female sexuality could be summed up as follows: fragmented, punctuated with controversy, rich in received ideas and poor in factual data”, can we also read.
It is about the consequences of the ignorance of female anatomy by the general population, but also by doctors and surgeons, who, in their training, hear very little about the clitoris and female pleasure.
On Twitter, when Mme Guillemette sought to make the article shine there, a black background was displayed, with the mention: “The following media includes potentially sensitive content. »
To read the file, you have to press “see more”.
Why was this the case for an article in a scientific magazine? We asked the question to the press relations department of Twitter who replied with an emoji illustrating droppings, its common practice when it has been approached by the media for some time.
To get more than the basic visibility on Facebook, it is possible to pay money to Facebook from time to time. When Mme Guillemette chose to do it, that’s when it was refused.
“We can submit a request for review, but we are never certain of the risks we run by doing so and we do not want to risk the closure of our Facebook page,” explains Ms.me Guillemette.
Robot or human?
Believing to be faced with the censorship of a robot rather than a human, Mme Guillemette sought to circumvent the problem. The editor-in-chief of Quebec Science replaced the original illustration – which depicts a nude woman – with another illustration, that of a flower. She also removed the bit of text referring to the fact that female ejaculation was not invented by porn.
With these changes, Facebook let it all go.
Facebook – whose press relations are handled by a public relations firm – was unable on Thursday to explain to us the reasons behind the initial refusal.
Mme Guillemette indicates in any case that for Quebec Scienceto be censored in this way is a great first.
It doesn’t make sense, it’s relevant content that has nothing to do with pornography.
Melissa Guillemette
Note that on Instagram, it went like butter in the pan.
A great need for information
Without commenting on the precise content of the article, the DD Diane Francœur, gynecologist-obstetrician and ex-president of the Fédération des Médecins Spécialistes du Québec, is surprised by the practices of the web giants “in this era when women seek a lot of information and where there is a lot of false information on the Web “.
There are still “too few words about the ills of women”, she notes.
Women, adds the DD Francœur, “want to be informed in order to make the right decisions about what concerns them”.
Françoise Guénette, feminist and member of the collective behind the magazine Through rose-colored glassesfrowns.
There is so much more disastrous, violent and pornographic content on social networks and we block an article like this?
Françoise Guénette, feminist and member of the collective behind Through rose-colored glasses
She finds that these themes addressed in the article by Quebec Science are absolutely relevant, especially for young girls who still know too little about their bodies.
Currently, many young people rely on porn to learn more about sexuality, when it is far from the best way to learn about these issues, she concludes.
“So-called ‘intelligent’ algorithms”
Philippe de Grosbois, sociologist and author of various texts on the social and political issues of digital technology, believes that social networks are characterized by their lack of transparency, their “low cost” model, the low salaries of their employees and the “so-called ‘smart’ algorithms” that are actually “rather clumsy”.
The example of Quebec Science shows that it is a risky bet to want to give more power to companies that already have too much.
Philippe de Grosbois, sociologist
This story is reminiscent of this Brazilian awareness campaign on breast cancer which had also been blocked, evokes Professor Jean-Hugues Roy, of the School of Media at UQAM.
“Facebook had admitted it had made a mistake and had reinstated the publication,” he explains, and the Supervisory Board – an independent body from Facebook – had asked Meta “to clarify its policies on nudity to prevent campaigns awareness and information relating to health are automatically censored” when they are illustrated by women’s breasts.
” The case of Quebec Science is not the same, but one could plead that it is close, advances Mr. Roy. We are in front of a case of scientific information accompanied by an illustration of the subject. »
In his opinion, “Meta still has difficulty distinguishing between a cartoon for informational purposes and porn. A human sees clearly that the illustration of Quebec Science has nothing to do with pornography and is completely acceptable. »