Feminist Literature Considered "Adult" Material by Amazon.com

by Jen Nedeau

Published April 14, 2009 @ 04:11PM PT

If you haven't already heard the outrage about the LGBT and Feminist literature that has been delisted from Amazon.com for being considered "adult" material - make sure to read this coverage of the situation:

Women's Media Center: AmazonFAIL: How Online Social Tools Can Wreak Havoc-and Repair It

Over the holiday weekend, a firestorm let loose on the Internet: For no apparent reason, books on Amazon.com with feminist, LGBT and sexual-empowerment themes were removed from the sales rankings, numbers that show how well a product is performing on the website.

Angry authors and readers responded by launching a full-on social media assault, using blogs, Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness and to collect signatures on a petition.

Rapid response campaigns not affiliated with any one organization are increasingly becoming the norm in the age of free communication tools.  The Amazon incident (dubbed "AmazonFAIL," drawing on usage of "fail" as an indicator of strong disapproval in online cultures) is a fascinating example in part because of the cultural motivation behind and the mechanics of the removal and the implications for sales of "banned" books.

For those just waking up to the scandal, here's what happened: Amazon has a policy of removing books labeled as "adult" from its sales rankings (which by itself could discourage sales). This, in turn, has a ripple effect of removing books from elsewhere on the site, such as in search results and "related books" listings. The Amazon system is proprietary, so it's hard for outsiders to determine the full implications of such a removal. Anecdotal evidence from authors searching for their banned books returned wildly different results at different points over the weekend, but it was clear that if allowed to go unchecked, the "adult" label would have a severe impact on sales-if the readers can't find it, the readers can't buy it.

What kinds of books received this "adult" label? Erotica with gay themes (but not heterosexual themes), rape survivor advocacy and rape culture criticism, and feminist missives were among those suddenly labeled adult material. Soft-core hetero porn (such as Playboy centerfold calendars), hetero-themed sex toys and anti-gay screeds were left untouched. Let the maelstrom begin.

From Jezebel: Why Is Amazon Removing The Sales Rankings From Gay, Lesbian Books?

This sounds like a big old bowl of BS, does it not? Especially when you consider the fact that Amazon has vibrators, clitoral stimulators and anal plugs available in their search system with sales ranks attached. One wonders why these items are allowed to remain in the system with sales ranks while books including gay and lesbian content, themes, and even, as a commenter points out, autobiographies of gay and lesbian authors such as Stephen Fry, are deemed too "adult" for such things.

Feministing: Amazon Fail: Certain "adult" books (like mine) are de-ranked

We will have more to say on this tomorrow, but for now read Jezebel hereand here; the LA Times; Meta Writer; Alterdestiny; Trish Wilson; Daily Kos; Smart Bitches, Trashy Books; Heather Corrina; and TONS of folks on Twitter.

And this is why I say that equality is a radical concept...