Hey Jack, Why Is Twitter So Offended by the Word “Vagina”?

Dr. Jennifer Gunter is one of the most prominent figures on Gynecology Twitter, constantly shutting down misinformation on abortion and railing against Gwenyth Paltrow’s latest vulvic advice. She also has a new book out today, titled The Vagina Bible: The Vulva And The Vagina: Separating The Myth From The Medicine. Unfortunately, her publisher, Kensington Publishing Corp, is prohibited from saying the name of that book in their Twitter ads.

In a follow-up tweet, Gunter writes that “Our societal inability to say vagina like we say elbow is one reason I insisted on VAGINA in the title. 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.”

The official description for The Vagina Bible says with this book, Gunter is “here to give you the straight talk on the topics she knows best.” It’s too bad Twitter isn’t here for the straight talk.

Twitter Ads has a ban on specific types of content, including “vulgar” or “obscene” content. I’m guessing that’s why the word “vagina” isn’t allowed, but as Dr. Gunter said, vagina is not a dirty word. It’s anatomical, medical, and human.

An advance copy of Dr. Gunter’s book has been in my To Read pile for about a month. Thanks to Jack’s BS, it just moved to the top of that pile. Because spite is a hell of a motivator.

(image: Nicole De Khors from Burst)
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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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