Amazon has said that it pulled a book that 'challenges the transgender movement' because it does not allow books that 'frame L...
Amazon has said that it pulled a book that 'challenges the transgender movement' because it does not allow books that 'frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.'
The online retailer explained its stance in a letter to Congress on Thursday, after several GOP senators demanded CEO Jeff Bezos explain why it had pulled the bestselling book When Harry Became Sally.
'We have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,' Amazon said in response to the Congressional inquiry about the 2018 book.
The letter last month from Republican Senators including Marco Rubio of Florida , Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri had accused Amazon of 'openly signaling to conservative Americans that their views are not welcome on its platforms.'
The online retailer explained its stance in a letter to Congress on Thursday, after several GOP senators demanded CEO Jeff Bezos (above) explain why it had pulled the bestselling book
When Harry Became Sally, by Ryan T. Anderson, had made Amazon's bestseller list and was on sale on the site for three years before it was pulled without explanation several weeks ago.
The book describes itself as offering 'thoughtful answers to questions arising from our transgender moment' while offering 'a balanced approach to public policy on gender identity, and a sober assessment of the human costs of getting human nature wrong.'
The author responded with fury to Amazon's explanation of the ban, saying the company had relied upon mischaracterizations from his critics.
'Amazon appears to have never read my book, but relied on hit pieces. As I pointed out before: “Please quote the passage where I ‘call them mentally ill.’ You can’t quote that passage because it doesn’t exist,"' tweeted Anderson.
'Gender dysphoria is listed in the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which Amazon sells. So the real deciding factor seems to be whether you endorse hormones and surgery as the proper treatment or counseling,' wrote the author.
'Everyone agrees that gender dysphoria is a serious condition that causes great suffering,' Anderson tweeted. 'There is a debate, however, which amazon is seeking to shut down, about how best to treat patients who experience gender dysphoria.'
In a joint statement with his publisher, Encounter Books, Anderson said: 'No good comes from shutting down a debate about important matters on which reasonable people of good will disagree.'
'Amazon is using its massive power to distort the marketplace of ideas and is deceiving its own customers in the process,' the author added.
Amazon said in its letter that it strives to 'provide our customers with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable.'
'That said, we reserve the right not to sell certain content. All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer, as do we,' the letter added.
'We carefully consider the content we make available in our stores, and we review our approach regularly. As described above, we have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,' the company said.
Amazon dominates the country's retail market for books, accounting for 53 percent of all books sold in the U.S. and 80 percent of all ebooks.
Amazon strongly denied that it discriminates against certain viewpoints, after the GOP senators accused the company of censoring conservatives.
'We offer customers across the political spectrum a wide variety of content that includes disparate opinions,' the company said.
Amazon strongly denied that it discriminates against certain viewpoints, after the GOP senators accused the company of censoring conservatives
The Republican senators had accused Amazon of 'openly signaling to conservative Americans that their views are not welcome on its platforms.'
'When Harry Became Sally prompted important discussions in the national media and among policymakers in 2018, and remains one of the most rigorously researched and compassionately argued books on this subject,' the senators wrote in a statement.
'By removing this book from its marketplaces and services, Amazon has unabashedly wielded its outsized market share to silence an important voice merely for the crime of violating woke groupthink,' they added.
'Amazon has been unable to provide a sufficient explanation as to how the book supposedly violated a vague, undefined offensive content standard,' they wrote.
After Amazon pulled the book last month, American political commentator David French, who is a Republican, said the move was both 'absurd and unacceptable'.
Ross Douthat, a columnist with the New York Times suggested Amazon was 'conducting an experiment in what they can get away with.'
In the wake of last month's publicity, the print edition of the book sold out on Barnes and Noble's website and reached number 3 on their list of the top 100 digital books.
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