Amazon: 'Embarrassing And Ham-Fisted' Error Removed Listings For Gay-Themed BooksAmazon: 'Embarrassing And Ham-Fisted' Error Removed Listings For Gay-Themed Books

After more than a day getting beaten up on Twitter and blogs, Amazon.com issued an explanation for why gay- and lesbian-themed books were removed from sales rankings and made harder to find in searches. The company said it was an "embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error," adding that the error wasn't limited to gay- and lesbian-themed books; some 57,310 titles in several broad categories were effected.The Seattle blog TechFlash published a statement from Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener:

The controversy erupted on blogs this past weekend, urged on by Twitterers. Amazon's critics assumed that the company had instituted a policy of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered people (sometimes abbreviated as GLBT or GLBTQ), and demanding a boycott against Amazon products.

I argued the opposite Sunday, saying that people should wait until all the information was in -- and hear what Amazon had its say -- before making a judgment. I wrote: "If I'm wrong and Amazon is singling out gay-themed books for penalties? Well, I'll boycott them. But I'd like to wait for all the facts to come in before making a judgment. The cause of gay rights and equality will not be significantly harmed if we hold off the Amazon boycott until, say, Wednesday."

Does this mean I was right and everybody else was wrong?

Maybe not. Richard Nash, who runs Soft Skull Press, argues that the majority, in matters such as this, should never be given the benefit of the doubt. "Because in a world where whiteness and straightness are 'norms' and males benefit from our patriarchial history, it is always the GLBTQ books, the queer books, the non-normative books that get caught in the glitches, the ham-fisted errors," he writes (emphasis his).

He cites the examples of A Different Light and Oscar Wilde Bookstore, two shops that served the gay community back when big businesses would not. "The onus is on us, as [anti-racist writer] Tim Wise has taught so well on the topic of white privilege. We cannot be given the benefit of the doubt, because it is always us who get the benefit of the doubt in our society, and if we are to take the pink and lavender dollars, and if we are to say, you don't need A Different Light, or Oscar Wilde Bookstore, we'll hook you up just fine, then we can never let this happen."

I understand why GLBT people and their friends were quick to assume the worst of Amazon.com, because they've been beat up before. However, Amazon's explanation seems the most likely one. Certainly, they've shown no history of prejudice against GLBT people in the past. A computer glitch seems far more likely than the company having upended its corporate culture over the weekend.

It's significant to me personally that my GLBT friends on the Internet have been relatively silent on this issue. One even thanked me for my post urging caution and patience. I suspect they, like me, have been waiting for all the information to come in.

Amazon isn't entirely blameless on this issue. Why did they take so long to react? One writer claims he pointed out the error in February. Why did a customer service representative apparently tell one writer that the change was company policy?

I'll be watching to see how this plays out over the next few days.