An uproar began on the Internet on Sunday after writer Mark R. Probst posted on his blog that he’d noticed the sales rankings on hundreds of gay and lesbian books — including the newly released Transgressions by Erastes and False Colors by AlexBeecroft — had suddenly disappeared on Amazon.com. The rankings (and placement on best-seller lists) often help produce more sales. In response to a note Probst sent the online retailer, a customer service rep said, "In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude ‘adult’ material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists."
Information Week and CNET, however, are reporting that the "adult" tag is also being given to Heather Has Two Mommies (a children’s book that explains homosexuality) and Ellen DeGeneres’ autobiography — neither of which include explicit or racy content. Meanwhile, a raunchy memoir by porn star Ron Jeremy and Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds, which includes pictures of more than 600 naked women, are still being ranked.
A blowup over this "adult" policy continued on Twitter where users, using the hash tag "#amazonfail," discussed a perceived bias by Amazon against books with gay, lesbian, and transgendered themes. On Sunday night, however, Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith told the L.A. Times that it wasn’t a bias, that it was merely a glitchthat had occurred in its sales ranking feature that was in the process ofbeing fixed.
A “glitch.” Riiiiiiiight. Guess I can start spending my money somewhere else, Amazon.
As an author of diverse erotic fiction, I am concerned for my income. As an advocate for tolerance and acceptance, I am outraged. I hope more publishers take the route my primary publisher (Phaze Books) has chosen & offer deep discounts for direct sales.
And you BUY this mythical “glitch” with a particular animus towards gay-themed material? That’s how your article CONCLUDES? How exactly does a software develop a “glitch” so closely resembling plain old bigotry? Maybe we can replace the Ku Klux Klan with that program.
Yeah, there’s no way this is a glitch. Give me a break.
Get over yourself Aurelia. People are too sensitive. This is a total non-story.
Dear Author has a possible explanation — they’re targeting books’ meta data: http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-possibly-using-category-metadata-to-filter-rankings/
NO WAY this is a “glitch” — arbitrary meta data categories/words were targeted.
A glitch? Seriously? That’s the best excuse they can offer? Pfft. I bet I know the real glitch — that a customer service rep told the truth about Amazon’s bias against GLBT materials. If Amazon wants to be bigoted, they are a private company and can do so. But tell the truth about it so we private consumers can make an educated decision about where to spend our money — which will not be at Amazon.
Likely caving to pressure from a$$holes, just like Google (mainly Youtube) has been doing lately. These companies have become too big to continue with their initial feel-good mantras … time for some new blood.
The only plausible explanation is that it’s either a glitch (anyone with programming experience can explain how possible this is) or a rogue programmer. There is no way Amazon would risk the awful PR (and the loss of so many folks with disposable income) by deliberately implementing an official anti-GLBT policy. Think these things through before crying “conspiracy.” Or, if you’d rather not think, at least wait to see what the company does about fixing the problem.
It’s not just LGBT books – books on disability have also been de-ranked: http://lisybabe.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazonfail.html
You all or so overdramatic. If Amazon doesn’t want to promote gay themed books then they have a right to do so. They are a privately owned company. They aren’t owned by the government (yet). It doesn’t mean that they’re bigoted (which connotates a hatred or intolerance)…so stop throwing around that word as if it’s relevant to this discussion.
Gay people are the most overly sensitive people out there. You’re on to us, we are all out to get you.
This makes me very angry. Ellen v. Ron Jeremy. Hmmm I wonder who is more “adult.” And yet there are millions of people who would rather have Jeremy babysit their kids.
Les -
You can think whatever unfortunate things you’d like, but to call people “overdramatic” for not wanting to support a website that potentially insults their lifestyle is completely moronic. If they make it clear their gay audience means less to them, you expect that audience to simply look past it since it is privately owned? Obviously they can do what they want, but the company must be aware of the backlash. Bigotry IS the issue.
I was curious so I did a title search on Amazon. Every single book with “Queer” in the title has had it’s ranking removed.
No problem with “My Erotic X Files” or “Penthouse 40th Anniversary” though.
I guess when the ‘glitch’ was un-ranking Amazon’s ‘adult’ material it randomly skipped all the heterosexual material.