Amazon on an anti-gay crusade? Removing sales rankings from LGBT titles.

[hulklogan]

Recently, Amazon.com has been removing sales rankings from many LGBT books under the excuse that they are "adult" in content and must be removed from the automatically generated bestseller lists and primary search results page.

http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html">Here is a list of books that have been removed.

Here is their excuse:

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.

Of course, some of the titles affected are the classic freeper boogeyman titles like Heather Has Two Mommies and Brokeback Mountain. What is even scarier is that many of the titles that Amazon is messing with are as non-adult as The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students or Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.

At the same time, Amazon has not removed sales rankings from such family friendly titles as Young Lusty Sluts, The Playmate Book: Six Decades of Centerfolds, and Diary of a Legal Prostitute: Nevada Brothels. Anti-gay books still have sales rankings, including Speechless: Silencing the Christians: How Liberals and Homosexual Activists are Outlawing Christianity (and Judaism) to Force Their Sexual Agenda on America.

I thought Amazon was a good company, and somewhat progressive on LGBT issues. I guess I was wrong.

[Kajsa]

1. I use to think Amazon.com was a good company,too.

Now I hear this and know they will NOT refrain from selling
magazines that promote cock-fighting, even though they've
received lots of requests to do so including from the HSUS
and the ASPCA.

Now this, removing sales rankings from LGBT titles?!
None of those titles are " adult only books".
WTH?

So, I guess I was wrong, also.

:kick: and R.

[XOEnterprises]

2. Here's the Seattle P-I article on it.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/amazon/archives/166259.asp

You must check out the picture at the bottom, and it's not a hoax. I just typed "homosexuality" into Amazon's search myself. Disgusting.

[litlady]

3. This is ridiculous! Twitter is going mad with this, as are tech blogs...

some are even saying they are violating human rights laws in certain countries. These removals have already been found in Canada, the UK, Denmark, and Japan so far.

[Ian David]

5. Follow me on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/iandavidb

[Ian David]

4. Amazon Reclassifies LGBT Books as Adult; Sex Toys Are Not

Amazon Reclassifies LGBT Books as Adult; Sex Toys Are Not (via Box Turtle Bulletin) http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/04/12/10651

[readmoreoften]

6. "The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students" is dangerous stuff.

Won't somebody think of the children? (I mean the straight ones. Not the 11-year olds who hang themselves. The straight ones. You know, the real ones.)

[beac]

7. I just signed the petition protesting this VILE new policy.

Here's the link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/in-protest-at-amazons-new-adult-policy

[yardwork]

8. The response all over DU has been very supportive to us, too. Not.