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Amazon Rank:

Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked

1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.

Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com’s website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include “Bastard Out of Carolina,” “Lady Chatterly’s Lover,” several romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.

Example of usage: “I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterly’s Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene.”

Alternate usage: “My girlfriend wanted to preserve her virginity, and I was happy to respect that, then she amazon ranked and decided anal sex was okay.”

A fuller list of what Amazon has seen fit to de-rank (and reduce in terms of searchability) can be found here. I can only assume that Ulysses is not on that list because no one at Amazon has read it. Note also that it would appear that the standards for being “too adult” are much stricter when it comes to LGBTQ or feminist books.

What can you do about it?

• If you’re on Twitter, tweet about it using the #amazonfail hashtag.
• Put the following code on your own website as part of a googlebomb effort: <a title=”Amazon Rank” href=”http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/amazonrank”>Amazon Rank</a>
• If you are currently an Amazon.com affiliate, consider becoming a Powells.com partner instead. They pay more anyway.
• Contact Amazon directly. Amazon’s customer service number in the US is  1-800-201-7575.
• Buy from your local indie bookstores if and when you can. If you have ten thriving bookstores in town and one decides to hide every LGBTQ book in the back, you have other options; if you only have one or two shops, things get more difficult.
• Sign an online petition.
• Buy books on feminism, sexuality, and gay & lesbian studies. Show Amazon that they’re hurting their own profitability.

ETA: Pam’s House Blend and the Seattle PI blog are covering this as well.

ETA2: Nicola Griffith points out that Amazon is cutting into her livelihood simply because her books have lesbian characters. Dear Author’s coverage includes an update illustrating why this is unlikely to have been just a technical glitch. You can find more coverage of Amazon Rank fail at Slog, Feministe, Jezebel, and LA Times Jacket Copy.

ETA3: Lilith Saintcrow explains why, despite Amazon’s claim, it seems unlikely that this is a glitch. As for the theory that Amazon is being trolled, a little digging unturned this linked approvingly from none other than Warriors for Innocence of LJ Strikethrough fame. Of course, this isn’t proof, but it is interesting.

Also, Think Progress is now covering the story.

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