Amazon.com the behemoth in e-media sales has been under heavy criticism from the blogosphere after Amazon execs decide to make their searches more family-friendly by removing "adult" content from their searches. The gaffe which a twittersplosion has deemed "#amazonfail" makes all content related to queer topics much more difficult to browse and purchase. Not only are queer related media being removed from Best-seller lists, which reduces their sales... but they are also being removed, wholesale from search options. In order to find gay content, you must now search for items by their name. Amazon's Canadian website does not seem to be affected by the decision:
Top 4 books in subject search for 'homosexuality' on Amazon.CA
* Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron
* The Gay Man's Kama Sutra by Terry Sanderson
* And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
* What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak
Top 4 books for the same search on Amazon.com
* A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph Nicolosi and Linda Ames Nicolosi
* You Don't Have to Be Gay by Jeff Konrad
* For The Bible Tells Me So ~ Gene Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
* Can Homosexuality Be Healed? by Francis MacNuttvia GayGamer.net
Already calls for a queer-wide boycott of the bookseller are being trumpeted from all corners of the intertubes. Currently, Amazon execs have not responded to any of the hundreds of emails sent to them complaining about the change. You can follow the conversation as it develops.
|