TripAdvisor Removes Restaurant Review That Used the Word 'Feminism'

Review site TripAdvisor took down a user's review of a gastropub in England because it contained phrases like "feminism," "misogynistic," and "International Women's Day." Guardian writer Christina Fowler visited an independent pub called The Bell in Bedfordshire last Sunday. While she had a lovely meal there, Fowler witnessed something that put a foul taste in her mouth.

TripAdvisor's banned words list includes "feminism" and "misogynistic."

The owner apparently kept giving the waitress unwanted attention: He would "come up behind a waitress... and bite her on the shoulder." She adds, the owner approached the waitress again and slapped her "across the bum with a napkin. She spun around, at which point he pursed his lips and made kissing noises to her." Fowlers notes that it was clear that "she wasn't playing along or laughing, but seemed almost resigned to the attention."

When Fowler got home, she conveyed what she believed she had witnessed in a post on TripAdvisor with descriptors like "feminism" and "International Woman's Day," which is the day she had dined. She received a few messages from other members of site supporting her post. Fowler also received a lengthy message from the restaurant's female manager (who referred to herself as a "manageress") saying that Fowler was "bigoted towards an owner who is well respected and loved," adding that next time she shouldn't let "feminist views get in the way of enjoying the food."

The review was removed shortly after it was posted because it apparently "had fallen foul" of the company's stance on "political language." When Fowler reposted the review without the aforementioned descriptors, the post was accepted "with no issues." TripAdvisor confirmed to the Guardian that it was only the second version of the review that "met their standards."

The makers of the popular Italian hazelnut spread Nutella drummed up controversy earlier this month over its list of banned phrases, too. The company recently launched a campaign in France called "Say It With Nutella' where customers can create a custom image of a jar with a phrase on it. However, users were not allowed to add terms like "lesbian," "Muslim," "obesity," and more. See the edited review below: