• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, February 20, 2025

“Meta won’t let us talk about ‘intimacy’ for women over 40,” claims Midi Health in one of its owned-media ads designed to counter what the women's telehealth provider calls censorship from the major social media operator.

“Testosterone to improve intimacy?” reads one of the paid ads rejected by Meta, with the tag line "Personalized care for better s*x  — Visits covered by insurance.”

“Using characters or symbols to obfuscate words and phrases” is prohibited, Meta told Midi.  But using the word “sex” without the obfuscation would also be prohibited, Midi tells Pharma & Health Insider.

The two-year-old company expanded into sexual health last year after noticing problems in that area were among users' common symptoms, says Midi CMO Emily Jordan. Products now offered include testosterone, arousal cream, estrogen cream for vaginal atrophy, among others.

Yet, Jordan says, “our ads were getting denied. And we were talking about medical care. We were talking about vaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness, low libido that are all associated with hormonal decline.  So we knew we had to act.”

A particular sore point is that ads for male erectile dysfunction seem to have no problems running. “This all started when we realized that ED ads are widely accepted, yet women’s health is really restricted,” Jordan explains. "Somehow our sexual health is categorized as inappropriate, but in reality it’s a medical condition and we’re offering healthcare.”

Midi found an ally in Joylux, marketer of a pelvic floor red light therapy device that made news last fall by partnering with Halle Berry’s Respin brand for midlife women’s wellness.

Jordan says Midi and Joylux are working together to increase awareness and education for their target audience.

Last week, the two companies conducted a joint Instagram live session (no problems with Meta there), and Midi ran a sweepstakes awarding five Joylux vFit devices to women who downloaded a free book titled “Midi’s Guide to Menopause & Great Sex.”

“We’ve encountered challenges with Meta’s advertising policies, which often classify our products under restricted categories,” Joylux Founder-CEO Colette Courtion tells Pharma & Health Insider. “Despite adhering to all guidelines and focusing on education and empowerment, we’ve faced ad rejections and limitations due to policies that broadly restrict content related to sexual wellness.”

Joylux and Midi together, Courtion says, “aim to break taboos, empower women with science-backed solutions, and ensure they have access to the products, education, and support they need to thrive during this stage of life."

“We want more conversation around sexual wellness that de-stigmatizes the overall conversation,” adds Jordan.

“A lot of women think their decline in sexual function is their fault, and we really want to dispel that myth and let them know, ‘it’s not you, it’s your hormones,” she explains. “This is about a strong pelvic floor, not about something that they do.”

Jordan says that 40% of perimenopausal and menopausal women with sexual problems “believe there’s no solution and delay seeking health.” But, “87% of patients that come to Midi for this symptom actually see improvement.”