By Dr. T. Barbara Boothole
I recently considered running a Facebook and Instagram ad for my book, Fart, Laugh, and Be Happy. It’s a lighthearted, humorous look at joy, self‑acceptance, and yes, bathroom humor.
But I’m concerned Meta/Facebook/Instagram will likely reject the ad. By the way, the book was banned from several Facebook ARC (advance reader copy) book groups. Lots of joyless winks in this world!
The reason? Meta’s advertising policy on profanity states that advertisers cannot run ads that contain profanity or obscene language, even if it’s obscure, misspelled, or vague. Fart could be considered crude or vulgar and therefore fall under the “obscene language” category.
In short, the word itself is the problem.
To be clear, the ad would contain zero sexual content, graphic imagery, hate speech, harassment, medical misinformation, or political messaging. The book is also free of that content. The ad would simply promote a book whose title includes a word most of us learned around age four.
And yet, Meta’s system would probably flag it as inappropriate for public consumption.
Laughter? Fine.
Happiness? Encouraged.
Farting? Absolutely not.
As a philosopher, I’ve spent much of my career studying the ways humans manage discomfort. We develop elaborate rules and rituals to distance ourselves from the parts of life that remind us we are physical, imperfect beings.
It turns out that a trillion‑dollar company has arrived at the same solution: do not say the word, and perhaps the thing itself will disappear.
What makes this especially interesting is the broader context. Meta’s advertising platform regularly permits questionable claims, aggressive marketing tactics, and content designed primarily to provoke or manipulate attention.
But a single, harmless word, one that describes a universal human experience, crosses the line.
I am not offended. I am genuinely amused.
In fact, by rejecting the ad, Meta would draw attention to my book better than the ad ever would have. People immediately understand the irony. Most have had similar experiences of content being flagged or rejected for reasons that feel disconnected from common sense.
I won’t bother. Changing the title or tiptoeing around the word would defeat the entire point of the book: to help people release unnecessary shame and learn to laugh at themselves.
Some things are universal. Some things are funny. And some things, apparently, are still too uncomfortable for a trillion-dollar company to say out loud.
If this story made you smile (or roll your eyes in recognition), you might enjoy the book: Fart, Laugh, and Be Happy
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
