Subscribe to Breaking NewsAmazon.com decides gay books are “adult”
What does a classic gay novel like James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room have to do with gay porn?
You’d think the answer would be pretty much “nothing.” But if that’s true, why would Amazon.com strip the sales ranks of almost all gay and lesbian books on their site — including E. Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain, Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story and 20s lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness — at the same time it’s removing the sales rankings for adult novels?
And it’s not just fiction. The blog Meta Writer said that affected titles also include The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Lovers, Families, and Friends and The Dictionary of Homophobia: A Global History of Gay & Lesbian Experience. And indeed, not one of those books has its sales ranking listed.
Asked “What’s up with that?” by a number of authors, Amazon sent out a form response:
In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.
It’s hard to know what’s more disturbing: That they’re removing gay and lesbian books from their search results and sales rankings in the first place, or that they’re categorizing anything about our community and our lives in the stigmatized “adult” category even when there’s nothing “adult” about it.
I mean, in what universe are books like Vito Russo’s Celluloid Closet, Randy Shilts‘ The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk or Dan Savage’s The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant adult books?
I checked the gay young adult titles by AfterElton.com’s Brent Hartinger, and they all still have their sales rankings. A few other YA titles I looked at didn’t, however, including John Fox’s The Boys on the Rock, Jim Grimsley’s Dream Boy and, ironically, The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004.
Neither did Speechless: Silencing the Christians: How Liberals and Homosexual Activists are Outlawing Christianity (and Judaism) to Force Their Sexual Agenda on America or Heather Has Two Mommies, which has got to be one of the most banned books in American history. Nice company you’re in, Amazon.
Amazon.com has not responded to a request for a comment by AfterElton.com.
Why isn’t the Bible on that list? It has incest, rape, murder, genocide, and other adult themes. I’m sure they’re fine with that and all the tripe put out by Focus on the Family.
Support you local GLBT bookstore. Here in Milwaukee, that’s Outwords Books:
http://www.outwordsbooks.com/
They can supply any of the GLBT titles and you’ll be supporting the GLBT community. Check your own community to see if the is a GLBT bookstore there, and, if so, buy all your books from them. Most GLBT bookstores can supply you any book that Amazon can supply — whether it is a GLBT title or not. Yes — Amazon can probably supply it for less because of their hugh buying-power, but isn’t it worth just a little more to protect GLBT books from the kind of insulting tacit censorship which Amazon is embarking upon.
Don’t put-up with this kind of stupid discrimination. Do not buy ANYTHING from Amazon.
I will no longer be shopping at Amazon!
I spend $200 to $300/month at Amazon, but this will cause them to lose my business. After all, we should use our money to help non-corporate/locally-owned booksellers and such anyway.
I’m seriously disappointed. I’ve been a increasing my business with Amazon lately. I sent an email asking for an explanation. I will hold off on any future business until I see how they address this issue.
We need to be doing business with GAY owned and operated companies first and foremost!! Only do business with breeder owned businesses as A LAST RESORT ONLY!!! Hit the heteros where it’s going to hurt them the most: IN THE WALLET!!
Can someone post a link so we can email them and show our disapproval?
I am dismayed by this seeing as how I buy most of my books online and they had been so helpful and courteous to me in the past. But this news has me rethinking what kind of company they are. I am no longer going to be spending my hard earned money with them.
no surprise to me,amazon is on the ‘red’ business list, donates money to and is run by republicans, so do I need to say more? I never have purchased any books nor visited their website.
Here’s info for Amazon corporate:
Amazon.com Headquarters
Address: 1200 12th Ave., Ste. 1200
Seattle, WA 98144
Phone: (206) 266-1000
Fax: (206) 622-2405
Also – Jezebel is keeping a list of the removed books: http://jezebel.com/5209088/why-is-amazon-removing-the-sales-rankings-from-gay-lesbian-books
“Why isn’t the Bible on that list? It has incest, rape, murder, genocide, and other adult themes. I’m sure they’re fine with that and all the tripe put out by Focus on the Family”
I couldn’t agree more.
What’s entertaining is at the top of my page, the banner on this website is for Amazon and a laptop sale.
Boycott Amazon.com
IDIOTS. DIdn’t amazon donate to Prop 8?