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Amazon Employees Resign Over Dangerous Anti-Trans Book

Danielle from Leaf and Core
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Irreversal Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters Amazon screenshot

Every part of that description is dishonest.

At least 467 Amazon employees have signed a letter asking Amazon to pull a book from its digital shelves. Two employees have quit over the matter. The book? A hateful transphobic tome that breaks Amazon’s rules on claiming LGBTQ identities are a mental illness. Amazon employees claim the book frames transgender people as being part of a “craze” and framing transgender people, especially transgender children, as having a mental illness. Where did they get an idea like that?

Well, the book literally has “transgender craze” in the title.

Amazon has rules against selling such hate speech on their platform, but, for one reason or another, has turned a blind eye. Perhaps it’s because transphobia doesn’t matter as much to Amazon as homophobia does. Or, perhaps it’s because it’s the top selling book in the “LGBTQ” category. Somehow, attacking the rights of LGBTQ people still qualifies your book for Amazon’s LGBTQ category.

The Book

The book’s issues are clear from the title alone. Irreversible Damage The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, by Abigail Shrier. Right off the bat, Shrier refers to women, and, likely girls by the inclusion of “daughters,” coming out as transgender as a “craze.” That alone could be seen as a violation of Amazon’s rule against referring to LGBTQ identities as mental illness. But Shrier doesn’t stop there. She compares the only widespread doctor-approved therapy for gender dysphoria, transition, as akin to doctors encouraging anorexia patients by telling them they’re overweight. Shrier also defines “craze” from her title to be, “a cultural enthusiasm that spreads like a virus,” as well as “crowd mental illness.” That’s a clear violation of Amazon’s rules.

Doctor Christopher J. Ferguson reviewed the book in Psychology Today, pointing out that, “if we were hoping for a book that carefully hews to science, this is certainly not it and, in that respect, the negative reaction it has garnered in the trans community is entirely understandable.” He also questioned the dismissal of well-known scientific studies into gender, and Shrier’s insistence that it is solely a social construct. Dr. A.J. Eckert does the same, pointing out that Shrier’s war on pronouns in things such as email signatures can be dangerous:

“A 2018 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that those youth who could use their accurate names and pronouns had 71% fewer symptoms of severe depression, a 34% drop in suicidal thoughts, and a 65% decrease in suicide attempts. Since Shrier’s subjects’ chosen pronouns are not disclosed, I will use they/them pronouns when discussing these individuals. Intentionally misgendering and deadnaming (calling them by their birth name after they have chosen a new name that fits their gender identity) trans people is disrespectful, harmful, and dangerous.”

– Dr A.J. Eckert, Science Based Medicine

Experts and trans advocates, rightfully so, are pointing out just how dangerous this book is. It could drive discrimination, hate, and even violence, as well as depression and suicide.

Amazon’s Hypocrisy

It seems clear to me and others that this book is in violation of Amazon’s own rules for regulating the publishing of what it and many others consider hate speech, but Amazon disagrees.

Oh, wait, no they don’t.

Amazon has already dealt with issues regarding this book once before. Last year, Shrier tried to run an advertising campaign for the book on Amazon. Amazon refused because “It contains elements that may not be appropriate for all audiences, which may include ad copy/ book content that infers or claims to diagnose, treat, or question sexual orientation.”

That’s right, Amazon already admitted that this book breaks their rules. By Amazon’s own admission, the book should not be available on Amazon.

Yet here we are.

So why hasn’t Amazon removed it? Simple. Shrier is a high profile anti-transgender rights activist. She’s been on web series and news shows promoting her beliefs and book. She even testified against the Equality Act in the United States, a bill to protect LGBTQ rights across the nation, instead of relying on varying rights and a patchwork of protections between cities and states. Right now, perhaps due to the controversy, Shrier’s book has been an Amazon, “Best Seller,” sitting at #11 this week, according to Amazon.

Amazon hasn’t removed the book because people are buying it. They may once the controversy dies down and people looking to review it or negatively comment on it begin selling used copies.

As of the first reporting, 467 Amazon employees signed a petition asking Amazon to remove the book. Two Amazon employees quit over the matter. Amazon wouldn’t carry a book by David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, or George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, but is comfortable with a transphobic hate figure and her book that is, according to experts, inaccurate and potentially harmful.

But hey, rocket ships to the tip of space don’t fund themselves, and hate sells.

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