Facebook has reportedly refused to publicise a post for a feminist author’s conference discussing her influential book because of its “profane” title.
Anne Summers wrote on her personal Facebook account the social media behemoth had “denied permission” to boost a post promoting a conference discussing her 1975 book Damned Whores and God’s Police.
The book explored the persistence of Australian settlers’ stereotypes that separated women into convicted “whores” or carefully guarded “respectable” females.
The controversy centres around a Facebook tool which users can pay for to “boost” posts, enabling them to reach more peoples’ feeds - subject to higher standards than normal posts.
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Ms Summers claims she attempted to boost the original post on Monday, but Facebook reportedly responded by saying: “We don’t allow ads that use profanity. Such language can offend viewers and doesn’t reflect the product being advertised.”
Dear FB friends.How do you solve a problem like this:Many years ago I wrote a book and gave it a provocative title....
Posted by Anne Summers on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The author and campaigner told The Guardian she was “flabbergasted” by the reaction.
She suggested that the offending “profanity” may have been the inclusion of a quote by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on her public reception.
“As a woman wielding power, with all the complexities of modern politics, I was never going to be portrayed as a good woman,” Ms Gillard wrote in her memoir, My Story.
“So I must be the bad woman, a scheming shrew, a heartless harridan or a lying bitch.”
On Wednesday morning, Ms Summers’ original post had received more than 8,000 shares and 4,000 likes – far in excess of what she expected had she paid for the post to be ‘boosted’.
Ahem: 8109 shares (and 669,474 people reached). Cost: $0.00 https://t.co/2Rha24skVB
— Anne Summers (@SummersAnne) August 26, 2015
Facebook has been contacted for comment.
