Amazon removing "adult" material from sales ranking

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Irysangel

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They are also removing from 'front page searches' a lot of romance, erotic romance, and erotica. Dear Author also has a good article on it as well.

Note that you can search for 'vibrators' and it will pull up search results on the main page. A specific GLBT author? Nothing. An author that writes for Harlequin Spice? Nothing. A. N. Roquelaure (also known as Ann Rice)? Only out of print links that have not yet been updated.

I've heard that they're also removing Gay non-fiction titles as well.
 

Sirion

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I don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't want my kid searching there and coming up with stuff like that. They aren't removing their availability, people who want those types of books can still get them.
 

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I don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't want my kid searching there and coming up with stuff like that. They aren't removing their availability, people who want those types of books can still get them.

"those types of books?"

Excuse me? If you don't want your kid searching there, maybe you should concentrate on paying attention to your kid's computer use instead of restricting "those kinds of books."

We're not talking porn--we're talking books that are written by authors on AW, among others.

And there's a problem with the precedent Amazon is setting. They seem to be targeting gay and lesbian romance--but leaving Harold Robbins, or Jackie Collins.

Moreover, they're removing queer YA books--books that are not erotic, or sexual, and that merely have young queer characters dealing with the same joys of YA life that all of deal with.

And they're removing rankings data around those books as well.

Read this.
 

jennontheisland

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Apparently this also affects gay non-fiction. But not Playboy.

I think they must still be working on the parameters of this.
 
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"those types of books?"

Excuse me? If you don't want your kid searching there, maybe you should concentrate on paying attention to your kid's computer use instead of restricting "those kinds of books."

We're not talking porn--we're talking books that are written by authors on AW, among others.

And there's a problem with the precedent Amazon is setting. They seem to be targeting gay and lesbian romance--but leaving Harold Robbins, or Jackie Collins.

Moreover, they're removing queer YA books--books that are not erotic, or sexual, and that merely have young queer characters dealing with the same joys of YA life that all of deal with.

And they're removing rankings data around those books as well.

Read this.

QFT. Everyone visiting this thread needs to read this post in my opinion and, if you don't mind my saying so, I was particularly impressed by the text I've bolded.

As someone who's just moving into a new genre - yes, 'that type of book', I couldn't agree more.

I wonder if Amazon restrict access to books with violence in them? Probably not, 'cause, like, sex is moar worserer than killin' peoples. :rolleyes:
 

Kathleen42

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I find it rather amusing that Flowers in the Attic gets to keep its sales rank.

Seriously, though, if you're going to remove scores of titles does that not then render the whole idea of a sales rank completely useless?
 

Claudia Gray

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I would object less if the policy weren't so obviously skewed -- even very non-explicit gay fiction is getting dropped, while heterosexual erotica has to be much more explicit. Do they just not want us to realize that there are plenty of LGBT or LGBT-friendly readers out there?
 

NicoleMD

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Don't worry. I think Amazon will soon find itself running short on customers to potentially offend if they keep this type of stuff up.

Nicole
 

veinglory

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An adult filter would be fine, but across the board suppression is insane. Especially when it includes classic literature and anti-discrimination non-fiction.
 

Rarri

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Huh, that seems a bit nuts.

Good post though Medievalist; if parents are worried, they need to be taking control of computer use, not telling Amazon what they should stock. I find the idea of an adult filter interesting though. Those books need to be available, there's no point going backwards, otherwise there will be book burnings next. All that said, i wouldn't be concerned about our son (when he's older!) reading YA (or adult, for that matter) books of an LGBT nature.
 

BenPanced

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I can't help but wonder how this is going to affect women's health titles, in particular breast and ovarian cancer. Because...you know...lady bits...:e2faint:
 

mlhernandez

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I don't get why Amazon didn't just create some kind of opt-in safe search feature like Google has on their search function. If you don't want your kids looking at erotica or maybe you're just not into m/m books, you could just click a little box and voila! No naughty books in your search results.

But to wipe out entire publisher listings from the front page search is mighty ridiculous. Kensington Aphrodisia authors, like, don't exist if you search for them on the front page. You have to find a non-erotic romance title by that author and then hope and pray the book you really want comes up in the "other books written by this author" link things. Same goes for classics like Lady Chatterley's Lover or Well of Loneliness! Because, you know, we need to protect customers from the classics!

And what's with removing the ranks and search functions for YA novels featuring gay or lesbian protagonists but no sex anywhere in the text? But, hey, I can search for Playboy and see the Wet & Wild DVD collection! Apparently, YA novels showing gay/lesbian teens in a positive light equals dirty, bad adult content but a DVD collection of busty women hosed down with baby oil is totally all right. So is Alan Moore's Lost Girls...
 

Kathleen42

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I don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't want my kid searching there and coming up with stuff like that.

I'd be fine with my child stumbling across Heather has Two Mommies (and yes, that is one of the books affected).
 

justme

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This is ridiculous. I wonder what the publishers will say.
 

Sirius

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I don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't want my kid searching there and coming up with stuff like that. They aren't removing their availability, people who want those types of books can still get them.

"Those types of books" included (at the last check) Mary Renault's The Charioteer and The Friendly Young Ladies, Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, Radcliffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (sex scene: "that night they were not divided" /sex scene) and Michael Foucault's History of Sexuality.

I'd be absolutely delighted if my kids were reading any of those.
 
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