And the saga of clueless hetero people being obsessed with teh GHEY SEXXORS! continues, now with added fuckery.
Amazon dot-fucking-com has decided to strip the sales ranks from TLGBQ books, which keeps them from showing up in bestseller lists and some searches, because they have been deemed "adult" material.
Someone is thinking "what about the children?" in deciding to do this, and indeed, I wonder "What about the children?"
What about the gay children?
What about the lesbian children?
What about the bisexual children?
What about the trans children?
What about the children that come from families with transitioning, transitioned and/or queer parents/siblings/other family members?
Why the fuck doesn't anyone think about them?
Cause its only about the sex right? Thats the only reason anyone is trans or queer, because of sex. Dirty steamy stinky sweaty sex. We are all just straight folk with a fetish, right? And if its about sex, then we can't have the children seeing it! Oh NO! Except for Playboy. Because objectifying women is okay, hell, standard operating procedure, and we have to train em young, amirite?
What can you do about this?
There’s a petition going here, and you can complain to Amazon directly. Their exec customer service email is ecr@amazon.com and their customer service phone number is 1-800-201-7575. Folks are trying to google bomb the term Amazon Rank (more info here). And, of course, you can boycott Amazon. I am also going to contact the company I work for (who sells our product to Amazon) and let them know that it would be a great show of support to the non-cis and non-het communities if they joined the boycott as well.
If you want more information, the first link in this post leads to a great collection of links and a great take-down of this stinky business.
I intend to do everything I can to let this company know that I don't appreciate being treated like a shameful family secret.
ETA: textual fury has mentioned in the comments that books about disability and sexuality are also disappearing!
What the fuck! Its like the biggest troll in the world got into Amazon and took the fuck over! Only cis, het, abled bodies can bump uglies now or else its too "explicit" for kids?
I have also heard rumors that feminist theory is starting to go missing as well.
I will say this again, because it bears repeating: What...The...Fuck?!
Not only does this suck for GLBT kids who do not get to see them selves reflected it shows only a model to hetero kids once again reaffirming undeserved hetero privilege. As a parent I struggle to find books that reflect a variety of human experience for my kids and this will make it all the more difficult. Erasing bodies is showing not only discrimination but privilege.
ReplyDeleteThe "think of the children!" aren't thinking of the children, they're thinking of their own irrational fears. Amazon just got their last utter failure, I know I still have an account with them but they can just expect not to see my money ever again thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt is certifiably absurd, thanks for posting about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting on it!
ReplyDeleteAmazon is also taking books on Disability and sex down. Disability seperate from the sexuality of the disabled and including the sexuality of the disabled. What about the children in wheelchairs, with hidden disabilities, who are bed ridden? We are still sexual creatures. Many disabled persons also happen to be Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, etc.
ReplyDeleteFight back!
It is also interesting (and quite upsetting) to note that in response to an Amazon search of 'homosexuality', the first book to appear on the list is 'A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality'. It is sad to see what lengths businesses will go to in order to attract customers. Hopefully it will drive just as many if not more away.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, for the fundamentalists and other homophobes who no doubt instigated this purge, it's precisely for the gay kids. They want to make sure that those kids feel ashamed enough to repress their natural desires and live false lives as fake-heterosexual Christians (hence the already-mentioned first book that comes up "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality").
ReplyDeleteSomeone just twittered me this link:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/czgczp
Which goes to the livejournal of someone claiming responsibility for this. Thoughts??
He's trolling.
ReplyDeleteHis claims have been disproved here.
Amazon was a sponsor for Dr. Laura. Years ago I wrote them to call them on it, and they gave me a run around of bullshit mumbo jumbo.
ReplyDeleteYou have to remember that this company took a small Women's bookstore to court, to make them drop the name Amazon, on the grounds that it besmirched their name with the feminist/lesbian implications.
Amazon is just flat out, a very homophobic company. I would suggest you take your business elsewhere.