#amazonfail - Amazon Goes Homophobic, then says it's a glitch. Or maybe it's a conspiracy AGAINST Amazon??? The Power of Bloggers and Twitter

Okay, here's the scoop:

Over this past weekend, Amazon Went Homophobic: They removed the rankings from MANY books with GLBTQ content, even children's & YA, saying the books were too "adult"

It actually started on Thursday, when suddenly all these authors of GLBTQ books discovered that their Amazon sales ranking had disappeared.

One author of a book featured on this blogsite, Mark Probst (who wrote "The Filly") contacted Amazon and was told that

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

(see the full story on Mark's blog, here)

Mark's book "The Filly" isn't "adult." It's a YA book with Gay characters. But for Amazon, their new "filter" excluded it!

Jane, over at the Dear Author blogsite has a great rundown of how this was shaking out, showing that some books, Like a Playboy Bunny Centerfold book (pornography) was NOT excluded, while "Heather Has Two Mommies" (a children's picture book), WAS excluded! Another great blow-by-blow with commentary is here at Hayden Thorne's blog.

Outraged like me?

Ben Rattay started an online petition to send a strong and clear message to Jeff Bezos (CEO, Amazon.com) and Amazon Customer Service!

I signed it here! And wrote them this letter:

Policies of giant companies like yours set the tone of our culture. Deeming ALL books with GLBTQ content as "adult" disenfranchises millions of children and Teenagers from seeing any reflection of their own GLBTQ lives - and robs them of a sense of hope. There are over 200 books on my blogsite, "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" that are books with GLBTQ characters and themes written FOR Teens and children. Don't participate in a homophobia that helps keep these books in the dark. Please re-visit this new policy and prove that Amazon doesn't discriminate against the GLBTQ community!

People began twittering about this over the weekend with the tag #amazonfail and momentum built... Bloggers ran with it, newsgroups and listserves fired up, I got a bunch of emails from friends and colleagues (Thank you, Tricia and Greg and everyone else!) to let me know what was going on, and on Sunday critical mass seemed to have been reached...

Amazon, in a article in the online Publisher's Weekly that ran on Sunday, said that what had happened was a programming "glitch" and denied there being any new policy. Another statement came later, which you can read here on Wired's blog.

A new Twitter stream, #glitchmyass, started up, for those doubting the truth behind Amazon's denial.

When I searched Amazon Monday Morning, most of the egregious cases seeemed to have had their rankings restored (including "The Filly") yet there were others that still didn't have their rankings back.

WOW. The power of the net, of blogs, and of twitter. It's great to see how so many mobilized so fast to stop this in its tracks. The power we have as a community is impressive.

But there's a conspiracy theory here, saying that Amazon itself fell prey to an internet attack, designed to destroy the trust the Gay community had in the giant online retailer... (that some conservative group used a complaint loophole to target certain books and get Amazon's system to automatically de-list them since they'd passed a certain number of complaints that their content was too "adult." It's a fascinating theory, one that reveals another, darker, side to the power of the net.

What do YOU think happened? Was it a conspiracy? A Homophobic policy that backfired? Or just a "glitch?"

GSA Monday Topic: A 5 minute Poetry Challenge! Let's Celebrate National Poetry Month with a GLBTQ POEM of YOUR OWN!

Here's a fib I wrote for you, and yes, I only gave myself 5 minutes, too!

1/1/2/3/5/8/13

"Same
Sex
Marriage."
"Sex - Sex - Sex"
That's all people hear.
"Same Gender Marriage" lets them hear
"Commitment. Kids. Broken Dishwashers. And our Love, too."

(check out my friend Gregory K.'s amazing site for more fibs here!)

See if in your GSA meeting this week, you can have everyone write a poem for 5 minutes. Even if you don't share them aloud, taking the time to write and be creative can be really powerful! And remember, if the word "poetry" feels old and out of touch, every single SONG - including rap and hip-hop - is really a poem, set to music.

So go ahead, don't just celebrate other people's poems... BE A POET YOURSELF!

Go ahead and share YOUR fibs, haikus, sonnets, and all the rest in comments!

Fib structure for syllables per line:

1/1/2/3/5/8


Haiku structure for syllables per line:

5/7/5

Enjoy the poems!

Namaste,
Lee

Gay Poetry! Our GLBTQ Celebration of National Poetry Month Continues... with Steven Reigns and his heartachingly beautiful poem "100%"

Steven Reigns

Steven Reigns is a friend and one HECK of a poet. Here, to help us celebrate the GAY in National Poetry Month, is his poem, "100%"

100%

My grandfather pulls me aside,
shows me his cardigan,
baits me for a compliment.
I’m hooked.
I comply.
He tells me it is wool,
opens the right side, shows me the tag
100% virgin wool.
He brings out his charming smile,
“You know how hard it is to find a virgin these days.”
I laugh at his joke
and keep laughing as a reward to him
because I like that he has shared this with me.
I enjoy the role of grandson,
he is the only man who can take me there.
I fear my other relationships with men could end what we have together.
A man
whose 78-year-old body carries him through his weekly routine;
3 games of golf, 2 games of bocce ball,
and dancing on the ballroom floor.

His comment only to me,
his humor was not lost on his 20-year-old gay grandson.
He must know.
I’ve never said it;
I’ve never not said it.
The joke – universal.
Is that why he told it?

He had told me of times in the army,
his valued possession a photo of the green-eyed blond beauty with thin lips.
Who would become
his wife,
the mother of his children,
my grandmother.

He had told me of when he was 13 and understood why women were to be respected.
He saw a mare giving birth.
Stood there for hours
as blood, embryonic fluid, and water
poured out of her.
Finally a foal
and my grandfather was never the same.
“Stevearino, after that I never talked back to my mom, I always held the door for the ladies, I vowed to be a good husband. You see I realized that women create miracles.”

His life has been centered around women,
this is something we do not have in common.
We laughed over virgins
but thought of different ones.

My grandfather,
a man
who pats my head,
rubs my back,
kisses my cheek,
tells me he loves me,
and hopefully
isn’t ashamed that other men do the same.

WOW. I love poetry. I love gay poetry that speaks to me and speaks to who I was and who I am... I love this poem.

Steven's said that

"Some of the most powerful poems are mined from personal experience."

and I think he's proved that with "100%"

Thanks to Steven for letting me share this with all of you, and for being part of the celebration! (You can check out his website here!)

And for any of you lucky enough to be in the Los Angeles area on April 15th, 2009, Steven's leading a free two hour "Poetry as Memoir" Workshop (for poetry enthusiasts to those who have never penned a poem before) at the West Hollywood Public Library! Here's some more info on that:

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 from 6-8 p.m.
West Hollywood Library
[in West Hollywood Park]
715 N. San Vicente Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Please call (310) 652-5340 for further information

It's sure to be amazing!

Keep celebrating Poetry...

Namaste,
Lee

Twelve Days In August

By Liza Ketchum

Todd is 16 and on the soccer team.

But when soccer star Alex and his beautiful twin sister Rita move to town, suddenly Todd and his teammate Randy's positions on the squad are in danger.

So Randy starts a name calling campaign, trying to get everyone to call Alex a "fag" - so he'll quit the team.

As their team splits apart over which side people are on, Todd has to figure out what he's going to do. Does he join in, and save his spot on the team? Or does he do what is much harder... what is right?


Add your review of "Twelve Days in August" in comments!

Boy2Girl

By Terence Blacker

Sam is 13, newly orphaned, and moves to London to live with his aunt, uncle, and his cousin Matthew.

Sam's a tough guy, and immediately gets into trouble. So Matthew and his friends come up with an initiation "hazing" of sorts for Sam - he has to attend his new school AS A GIRL for the first week.

Sam does it, attending school as "Samantha" and fools everyone - teachers and students alike!

Suddenly, Samantha is heading for huge popularity as a liberated, everyone-wants-to-be-like-her young woman, and Sam - by pretending to be a girl who is on her way to becoming a woman - starts to learn how to be a boy growing up to be a man.



Add your review of "Boy2Girl" in comments!

Dare Truth or Promise

By Paula Boock

Louie and Willa are both in High School in New Zealand, but besides that they don't have much in common.

Louie is doing great in school. She's a prefect, runs the comedy club, and is starring in the school's production of "Twelfth Night."

Kicked out of her last school, Willa just wants to finish High School and move on to her dream of becoming a chef.

But both girls' plans change when they meet and are instantly attracted - and they fall in love.

Willa's single Mom is accepting, but Louie is suddenly lying to her parents, and struggling to reconcile her faith and her feelings for Willa.

Will Willa and Louie find a happy ending? You'll have to read "Dare Truth or Promise" to find out!


Add your review of "Dare Truth or Promise" in comments!

GSA Monday Topic: Passover. Easter. Rebirth. Resurrection. Spring!

The air is changing.

Celebrations at this time of year fill the calendar from our pagan past to the organized religious pagentry of Jews and Christians today, from matzah to chocolate bunnies, all to ritualize and acknowledge that a new springtime is upon us.

What about each of us, inside?

How can we take the opportunity to celebrate this renewal for ourselves?

Each day is a new chance to be the person we truly want to be. A new chance to, as Mahatma Gandhi said, be the change we want to see in the world. A new chance to be authentic.

So while you're admiring the crocuses poking out of the snow, or smelling the shift in the air, or looking at the buds on the trees, or eating fried matzah, or hunting for those easter eggs...

Think about what makes it spring inside you?


As for me, I'm going to be trying something new here on this blog... (stay tuned, I'll be announcing it in May!)

How about you? It's Spring! How are YOU going to bloom?

Gay Poetry! A Celebration of Poetry around the Kidlitosphere, and here, too! Sir Philip Sidney's "My True Love hath my heart, and I have his..."

It's April! That's National Poetry Month here in the USA, where we enjoy every excuse to celebrate things we already love.

There are some wonderful Childrens and Teen poetry celebrations happening around the Kidlitosphere that you should know about:

Check out Greg Pincus's 30 Poets/30 Days celebration at GottaBook. Greg's lined up some LUMINARIES in the world of children's poets, and will have a new, previously unpublished poem by some AMAZING poets every day of the month. It will be on my do-every-day-in-April list!

Also, Tricia over at The Miss Rumphius Effect will be celebrating with Poetry Makers, 38 interviews with FAMOUS and FABULOUS children's poets throughout the month!!!

Facinatingly enough, there will be moments when you can read a new poem at Greg's site, and then read an interview with the author at Tricia's blog! How cool is that???

Anastasia Suen is launching a new blog, Pencil Talk, which invites students from K-12 to submit their own poems and she'll pick one a day to post on the Pencil Talk blog throughout the month of April.

And here, on a smaller scale but with no less enthusiasm, we'll be sharing some new and some classic Gay (GLBTQ) poems, a new one each Friday for the whole month of April. In fact, if you've written a Gay (GLBTQ) poem that you think would "click" with readers of this blog, add it in comments... and maybe YOUR poem will be one that gets featured here!

So, stay tuned, and get ready to dive into the language, the visions, and the raw, sparkling emotions of some wonderful poems...

Here's one to kick off our celebration, by Sir Philip Sidney:

'My true love hath my heart, and I have his..."

My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given.
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss:
There never was a better bargain driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides;
He loves my heart, for once it was his own;
I cherish his, because in me it bides.
His heart his wound received from my sight;
My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;
For as from me on him his hurt did light,
So still, methought, in me his hurt did smart;

Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.

As found on pg. 13 of "Gay Love Poetry," edited by Neil Powell.

Ironside

By Holly Black

In the realm of faerie, Kaye declares her love - and in return is forced to go on a quest that seems impossible.

And Kaye soon discovers that she's battling Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court, for control of Roiben's throne.

Once again, Gay Teen Corny plays a major role as the faerie / human drama unfolds...


Thanks to Jacob for the recommendation. Add your review of "Ironside" in comments!

Project Sweet Life

By Brent Hartinger

Dave, Curtis and Victor are 15, and they've been told by their parents that they have to get summer jobs.

But, they're not particularly interested in working their summer away, so they come up with a bunch of get-rich-quick schemes...

like catching a bank robber.

and finding buried treasure.

There's some helpful gay uncles along the way, as the three friends try to figure out "Project Sweet Life."

Add your review of "Project Sweet Life" in comments!

Tithe

By Holly Black

Dark.

Edgy.

Kaye is 16, and when she and her wanna-be rock star Mom go back to New Jersey, she reconnects with her childhood friend Janet, and Janet's gay brother, Corny.

Soon Kaye encounters Roiben, a mysterious black Knight, and discovers that she's in the middle of an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms.

The teens are drawn into the war, with Kaye as the pawn - and the stakes are life and death.


Thanks to loyal reader Jacob for the recommendation! Add your review of "Tithe" in comments.

GSA Monday Topic: How Do YOU Define "Marriage?" Check out this new Merriam-Webster Definition!

Okay, so there's been all this talk and fighting and propositions and laws and lawsuits and constitutional amendments about "Marriage," and "re-defining Marriage."

This is as close as my rather dog-eared "Webster's new Twentieth Century Dictionary, Second Edition, Copyright 1979" got to including me and my husband in the definition of "Marriage."






Well, amusingly enough, one major dictionary, Merriam-Webster, changed their definition of "marriage" back in 2003 - and no one noticed until recently!!!

Here it is (you can link to it here):

mar·riage

Pronunciation:

\ˈmer-ij, ˈma-rij\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English mariage, from Anglo-French, from marier to marry

Date:

14th century

1 a (1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage marriage> b: the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage2: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected ; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities3: an intimate or close union marriage of painting and poetry — J. T. Shawcross>

The Houghton Mifflin dictionary (Yahoo's choice, here) defines it as:

mar·riage (mrj) KEY

NOUN:

1. 1. The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.
   2. The state of being married; wedlock.
   3. A common-law marriage.
   4. A union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage: a same-sex marriage.

I'm happy to be included - a little disappointed that both dictionaries went with "same-sex" rather than "same-gender" but still, it's progress.

It does raise the rather wonderful question: How would YOU define "marriage?"

Would your definition include gender? religion? civil recognition?

What does marriage mean to you?

Try writing it out. And feel free to share your definition here, in comments!

A Gay Teenager, James Neilly, testifies in Vermont: "It's really hard to feel equal when you don't have the same rights."

I've got a new hero:

James Neilly is a Junior in High School in Vermont, and he testified last Friday on the same-gender marriage battle:




It's amazing to me that James is this eloquent and self-assured at 17.

His parents should be proud of him.

The Gay (GLBTQ) Community should be proud of him.

I know I'm proud of him.

Bravo, James. Bravo!

The news as of now - Vermont's Senate voted 26 to 4 in favor of same gender marriage on Monday. Now it's going to the House, which is also expected to pass the law.

The Governor, however, on Wednesday said he's going to veto it.

It's "unclear" whether the legislature will try to override a possible veto... (Check out this CNN article here for more details.)

Comfort Me

By Louis Flint Ceci

Three friends in high school in Croy, Oklahoma, find that they can be a kind of "family" to each other - since their own families are so messed up.

One of them, Mally, is gay.

Mally has a crush on Randy, a football jock who's one of the other three.

Joanie's the third, and Randy is interested in her...

Things get even more complicated, and secrets past and present won't stay secret for long.


Add your review of "Comfort Me" in comments!

It Chicks

By Tia Williams

Louis B. Armstrong is New York City's most prestigious Performing Arts High School.

Seven teenagers, amid all the others, are there to play the fame game and make it BIG.

YA Glam Lit!

I think this quote, from the book's blurb, tells it like it is:

What they want is fame.

All they have is drama.

And one of the main characters is a lesbian, who runs into a transfer student while secretly... well, I'm not going to ruin it for you!

Thanks to loyal blog reader Doret for the recommendation, and add your review of "It Chicks" in comments!