THIRST is a short film about sexual equality that outsmarts social media censorship using metaphors that cannot be flagged or hidden by A.I. Our strategy was to study every single sexist censorship rule in every single social platform to write a film about female pleasure uniquely scripted to survive all of them. We used the rules to fight the rules. Our film uses visual and sound metaphors for the physical sensation of female pleasure designed to hack social media censorship algorithms, as we follow a woman on a journey of self-exploration as she seeks what previously felt out of reach. Thirst is written to make viewers feel the craving and desire women experience in pursuit of sexual equity and sexual pleasure. The script follows the rhythm of the sensation of pleasure and the building of a climax. But it’s all done in a way that avoids censorship.

Sexual education in the U.S. overlooks pleasure as an important component and remains focused on the negative outcomes of sex, like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexual dysfunctions, and unwanted pregnancy. But research shown that integrating pleasure into sex education can increase people’s knowledge about sexual communication, consent, and safer sex behaviors—all crucial aspects of sexual and public health. Another phenomenon in the U.S. is known as the pleasure gap, which refers to the data that shows women on average have fewer orgasms than men. Studies have found that 95% of straight men said they usually or always climax during sex compared to just 65% of straight women. Many Americans turn to social media for sex education content, but social media’s discriminatory algorithms that censor content about female pleasure and sexual health prevent the platform from being the powerful educational tool in closing the pleasure gap.

Each and every decision on the film was made by a woman–from the direction, to the photography, to the soundtrack. We needed a 100% female POV to ensure the most authentic story was being told. And, our diverse crew was made up entirely of Black and Latinx people. We filmed in 35mm to capture the raw nature of craving and pleasure with warmth and depth, bringing the natural female experience of an orgasm to life in a truly crafted way. Because natural environments, like forests, bodies of water, and cliffs, played such an important role in the story, the selection of locations and the time of day we chose to film were crucial.

Sexism censorship of female pleasure and sexual health content results in negative consequences for women. To change this harmful narrative, we’ve targeted women 20-45+ that are active on social media to ignite conversation around sexual health inequality and the overlooked role pleasure plays in both individual and public health. With the smart use of the sound metaphors to convey our message, the film hasn’t been blocked or flagged by A.I. to date and continues fighting against sexist censorship. We’re already seeing the positive momentum this impactful film has ignited. After releasing the film, Meta issued advertising policy changes to finally allow sexual health, wellness, and reproductive ads on its platform – representing a step forward in changing its sexist censorship rules.