AI has a boob problem (and it’s not what you think)
Femtech company Elvie found it couldn't join a ChatGPT trend because its idea "violated" policies.
Femtech pioneers Elvie decided to join the recent ChatGPT “make me a doll” trend.
But when the company, which makes an in-bra breast pump, asked the AI tool to create their action figure as a breastfeeding mother, they faced a challenge.
Chat GPT threw up an error, saying it couldn’t make the image because the prompt “violates our content policies.”
Like others trying the trend, Elvie’s Social Media Associate Manager, Beth Chandler and her colleague copied a base prompt being shared online and inputted what they wanted to see.
The prompt read: Create a picture of a collectible action figure titled “[FIGURE NAME]” in a sealed plastic blister pack on a cardboard backing. The figure is posed confidently inside the transparent plastic shell, surrounded by three accessories that reflect their personality or career.
Most then personalised it further with extra details.
“But literally the first mention of ‘breast feeding mother’ came up with the error message” says Chandler.
“We just thought… ‘typical’.”
“To use the word 'violate' in relation to something so natural is wild.”
Izzy Smith, Senior PR & Influencer Manager at Elvie, said it shows that AI “won’t show the realities of motherhood in the way it always happens.”
Frustrating as it was, the restriction actually inspired a different conversation, as they realised sharing the story would raise awareness of the issue.
The Female Lead asked ChatGPT why breastfeeding images might be restricted. It said this would be because it is misclassified as adult or explicit content, the AI is being overly cautious, real people may be involved, or there are child safety policies.
Following its refusal, Chat GPT had its own suggestions for Elvie:
“If you’d like, we can reimagine the figure in a way that still communicates the chaos and strength of motherhood - maybe by suggesting her exhaustion or multitasking nature in a symbolic or humorous way. Want to try a new version?”
The Elvie team asked it to go ahead, only to be served up a disheveled mum with messy hair and dirt all over her dressing gown.
“Look, a lot of mums might relate to that - but why is THAT considered a stereotypical postpartum breastfeeding mum?”
Then they added Dad into the scene... “He’d clearly had 12 hours sleep, a fresh trim and a hot shower… not cool.”
Unfortunately, digital censorship around breastfeeding is all too familiar. “It’s really sad but expected. We see this on a regular basis” says Chandler.
It’s all part of a much bigger problem. Elvie, which also makes products like a pelvic floor trainer, has had to tiptoe around social media policies to talk about them.
“It’s incredibly frustrating when as a company we are trying to tackle the taboos of women's health and we can’t always do that in a direct way,” says Smith.
In 2022 it shared a post on Tiktok of a woman suffering incontinence while weightlifting. The post was taken down after being classed as “graphic content.”
Elvie’s response? A 20-foot billboard that ‘peed‘ real water “to show that leaks during exercise are a reality for many women and that the problem was common but solvable.”
One study found that content related to women’s health is twice as likely to be censored on social platforms compared to men’s.
“There are definitely more obstacles to confront when creating content [than other companies might experience],” shares Smith. “In fact, there is also a gendered double standard. For example, a creative ad of ours that featured a woman biting her lip and scrunching bedsheets with the caption ‘confidence never felt so good’... was not allowed.”
The ad was for Elvie’s pelvic floor trainer. “But we know explicit adverts for erectile dysfunction, which include phrases such as ‘have longer sex' have been used.”
“We go through a laborious process… to get the content of our ads approved and some have still been deemed explicit or banned.”
“It’s finding work arounds… it’s not always straightforward.” says Chandler. She’s found that offline campaigns like billboards and poster adverts have fewer restrictions than social media.
Meta’s image guidelines were leaked in 2012, revealing that moderators were told to ban images of breastfeeding if the nipples were visible. But now, Instagram says it allows images of “actively breastfeeding” women, which are an exception to its nudity policies.
OpenAI told The Female Lead that Elvie’s breastfeeding image should have been able to be generated, and that its products are still being developed and improved.
