Many Gay Books Banned from Amazon Rankings

Gawker ^ | April 12, 2009 | Ryan Tate

[FourPeas]

(UPDATED) As if it wasn't hellacious enough working customer support for Amazon.com on Easter, the online book store's reps must now explain why gay romances (and other books) are too "adult" to rank.

Straight romance like Jackie Collins and straight porn like this book of Playboy centerfolds is still ranked on Amazon.

But not the homosexul stuff: Gay romance publisher Mark Probst noticed hundreds of such books lost their rankings over the past two days, including Transgressions, about a 17th century liaison between a cavalry trooper and a farmer's son, and False Colors, about a 19th century naval lieutenant attracted to his commanding officer.

Probst wrote to Amazon through his publisher's account, and was told

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.

There is now an full-fledged Twitter shitstorm, naturally, and a new, snarky definition for the term "Amazon Rank," spreading virally. It's hard to imagine the Seattle-based retailer sticking by this controversial policy after naming a gay Brit's novel their "Book of the Year."

On the other hand, Amazon must be happy, on some level, to have finally expanded its customer base beyond the sophisticated techno elites, straight through into the American cultural backwaters where this sort of material is remotely offensive, somehow.

So probably the store will lump anything vaguely sexual, Jackie Collins and Playboy included, into a romance/erotica category, which will also be rank banned. And eventually the site will just throw in the towel and outsource its entire filtering operation to the cultural arbiters at Wal-Mart. Why not?

[DoingTheFrenchMistake]

“nor should we have to accept their push to get their foul, obscene, nasty, stomach wrenching, odiously filthy acts and desires to become rights.”

You see that is your problem... In free society you don’t get the right to tell other people how to live, nor do you have a right to be offended if it impinges on the rights of others who are exercizing their right to freedom, furthermore no one really cares how you feel, me included.

[mountainbunny]

Isn’t this ranking based on sales? Perhaps people are not buying gay books. This seems like a stupid thing to complain about...who cares. I have seen threads here from conservatives complaining about this too when the conservative books fall off the chart...perhaps instead of complaining buying a book might be more adventagous. People just love to complain about EVERYTHING.

No, that isn't an option because Amazon admits that they aren't ranking the books on purpose. Amazon under fire (^)

FTA:

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.

[Waryone]

Freedom does not mean license to do whatever you want. Yelling fire in a crowded room, murder, and obscenity are still illegal. Also, you can’t discriminate against religious beliefs according to our Constitution.

The founders of the same document you cited never made provision to protect the filthy acts of a few. They did however protect the religious right of many so that they would not to have to go along with those disgusting practices.

As far as how the reprobate bottom dwellers live, they can do whatever they wish in the discomforts of their own infested lairs, just as long as others don’t have to deal with their deviant behaviors.

[DJ MacWoW]

That poster has now been banned.

[steve-b]

Amazon Says Glitch to Blame for "New" Adult Policy

[FourPeas]

In free society you don’t get the right to tell other people how to live, nor do you have a right to be offended if it impinges on the rights of others who are exercising their right to freedom, furthermore no one really cares how you feel, me included.

You're incorrect on at least one point. People *do* have the right to be offended by others' actions. The thought police aren't yet that prevalent in our republic, not that the LGBT lobby isn't trying.

This action of Amazon's, whether or not they're now calling it a glitch, has nothing to do with the government. It's a private website making a choice on how to run its business just as FreeRepublic is a private website and limits various things. In a free society you don't get the right to tell websites what they must contain.

The last part of your post is truly insightful: furthermore no one really cares how you feel, me included. It fits when I hear people complaining about their nonexistent "human rights" when it comes to whether Amazon does or does not list the sales ratings for LGBT books.