And the equal representation tango continues.
Amazon.com is censoring books featuring GLBTQ characters or homosexual relationships by stripping them of their sales rankings, which makes it less likely that they will appear in searches. When contacted regarding one of the books, an author was told, "In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists." However, several of the books stripped of rank include autobiographies, young adult novels, self-help books, and other books with no explicit sexual content. It also includes major works such as Brokeback Mountain, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Stone Butch Blues, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Am I Blue?, Gender Outlaw ... books that, for those of us who are queer, or questioning, or transgendered (and notably: for those of us who are also people of color) are likely to be the first time we read about our own experiences, or read something that makes us feel loveable, or represented, or make us make sense in our own heads.
I encourage those of you with the time, particularly those of you who routinely purchase things from Amazon, to contact them and demand rankings be restored to books with GLBTQ content. (Mom -- can you point this out to Dad?) There's a web page here that offers various ways to contact Amazon. ETA: There's also a petition you can sign.
I shop at Amazon for its cheapness and convenience. That's not enough of a draw for me to subsidize my own cultural erasure.
ETA:
To whom it may concern,
I request that you forward this message to an executive in charge of customer relations.
I have been following internet discussions of the fact that sales ranks have been removed from some books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender characters, and from books that depict homosexual relationships. One Amazon.com customer, upon inquiry, was told by an Amazon customer service representative, "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."
However, at this time, the books affected include young adult novels, self-help books, autobiographies, and other books with no explicit sexual content. It also includes highly acclaimed literary works such as Brokeback Mountain, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Giovanni's Room, and Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Some of the books affected no longer appear on the first page of results when you search for them by title. Meanwhile, thousands of books with explicit heterosexual content remain unaffected.
I am joining other longtime Amazon customers in demanding an end to the censorship of books whose subject matter relates to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters. Return sales rankings to all affected works, return them to bestseller lists and searches, and change policies that define a work as more "adult" simply because it represents homosexual, bisexual, or transgender individuals. I find these marketing decisions to be bigoted and offensive, and I will not support them by purchasing from your site.
A significant share of the materials I have purchased in Amazon from the past include books by or about homosexual, bisexual and transgender people. I have continued to use your site in part because you carried these books when my local bookstores did not have them in stock. As long as you are effectively censoring such works, I will take my business elsewhere. I have also asked my friends, relatives, classmates, coworkers, and people who read my blogs to do the same.
I will not pay you for erasing me.
I would appreciate a reply if and when corrective action is taken.
With profound anger and disappointment,
T.
ETA way too belatedly: Thanks, slightlytricky, for bringing this to my attention.
I encourage those of you with the time, particularly those of you who routinely purchase things from Amazon, to contact them and demand rankings be restored to books with GLBTQ content. (Mom -- can you point this out to Dad?) There's a web page here that offers various ways to contact Amazon. ETA: There's also a petition you can sign.
I shop at Amazon for its cheapness and convenience. That's not enough of a draw for me to subsidize my own cultural erasure.
ETA:
To whom it may concern,
I request that you forward this message to an executive in charge of customer relations.
I have been following internet discussions of the fact that sales ranks have been removed from some books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender characters, and from books that depict homosexual relationships. One Amazon.com customer, upon inquiry, was told by an Amazon customer service representative, "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."
However, at this time, the books affected include young adult novels, self-help books, autobiographies, and other books with no explicit sexual content. It also includes highly acclaimed literary works such as Brokeback Mountain, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Giovanni's Room, and Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Some of the books affected no longer appear on the first page of results when you search for them by title. Meanwhile, thousands of books with explicit heterosexual content remain unaffected.
I am joining other longtime Amazon customers in demanding an end to the censorship of books whose subject matter relates to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters. Return sales rankings to all affected works, return them to bestseller lists and searches, and change policies that define a work as more "adult" simply because it represents homosexual, bisexual, or transgender individuals. I find these marketing decisions to be bigoted and offensive, and I will not support them by purchasing from your site.
A significant share of the materials I have purchased in Amazon from the past include books by or about homosexual, bisexual and transgender people. I have continued to use your site in part because you carried these books when my local bookstores did not have them in stock. As long as you are effectively censoring such works, I will take my business elsewhere. I have also asked my friends, relatives, classmates, coworkers, and people who read my blogs to do the same.
I will not pay you for erasing me.
I would appreciate a reply if and when corrective action is taken.
With profound anger and disappointment,
T.
ETA way too belatedly: Thanks, slightlytricky, for bringing this to my attention.