In a controversial move, online sex education resource Beducated has been removed from social platform TikTok, citing a violation of its community guidelines.
This decision, effective from December 28, 2023, came after Beducated shared a link to its New Year’s sale (Beducated.com/f/nye23) featuring the headline ‘Less Squats, More Squ*rts’ – with the ban resulting in the loss of 19,000 followers and a significant amount of educational content on sexual health and wellness.
This isn’t the first time the company has faced such challenges: previously, Beducated encountered an Instagram ban in 2021, a shadow ban on their current Instagram account, and restrictions on running ads on Meta and Google. These incidents highlight the ongoing struggle against big tech’s censorship of sexual wellness content, impacting Beducated’s ability to educate and raise awareness.
The implications of such censorship are significant. A 2022 Miracare survey revealed that 90% of respondents felt unprepared by their sex education for real-life sexual experiences, with almost half turning to online sources for information. With platforms like TikTok censoring expert voices, people are left with limited and often unreliable resources. Beducated has resorted to using ‘algospeak’ to avoid algorithmic bans, a tactic that is not always successful and complicates the search for quality sex education content.
Mariah Freya, founder of Beducated, emphasizes the urgency of the issue: “This is a health crisis. Big tech’s restrictions on sex education are not just passive observation but active obstruction. Our work is constantly minimized by these companies who fail to distinguish between sexual wellness content and pornography. It’s 2024, yet sex and intimacy remain taboo topics.”
Beducated is calling for a reevaluation of content policies to allow responsible and informative discussions about sexual wellness. They are urging social media platforms and search engines to differentiate between pornographic content and educational material focused on sexual wellness.
“Our mission is to dismantle the barriers around sexual wellness education, but current social media policies are making it incredibly difficult,” says Freya. “We’re advocating for policy changes to let sexual education reach everyone. It’s vital for our overall well-being.”
Want to learn more? Visit Beducated.com to discover 100+ pleasure-based sex education courses covering everything from self-pleasure to kink exploration, with subscriptions starting at $9.99 a month for an annual pass. Non-subscribers can also explore the service with a 24-hour free trial.
ABOUT BEDUCATED:
Beducated is the biggest pleasure-based sex education platform on the internet, with 100+ courses covering everything from self-pleasure to kink exploration. The library hosts thousands of lessons and extensive learning materials curated by world-class sex educators, coaches, and experts.
Founded by Mariah Freya and Phil Steinweber in 2018, Beducated began as a “Netflix for sexual education,” offering online access to sex and sexuality master classes via subscription. Their latest venture, the AI Sex Coach, is a comprehensive ‘intimacy assistant’ that provides detailed advice on sex and relationships, leveraging extensive training from thousands of sex education lessons and materials to foster an environment of shame-free sexual exploration. To learn more, visit Beducated.com.
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Press and media contact:
Brian S. Gross | BSG PR | 818.340.4422 | brian@bsgpr.com | @bsgpr
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