What Is Amazon Censorship really About? How are they Promoting Sexual Violence and Preventing Sex Liberation? – Kamala Devi

It’s not a secret that Amazon has become a monopoly. Everyone knows that big business tends to reduce choice, set prices, and stifle innovation. Even Fortune ran an article complaining that the Amazon Marketplace is to blame for impoverishing the entire book industry, as they continue to squeeze profits from artists, authors, and booksellers.  But what is less talked about is how damaging is its control of printed material. Amazon and Kindle have secret company content guidelines and have taken to pulling titles that are inappropriate to their agenda.

So the big mystery for me is WHY did they Censor the Sacred Slut Sutras?! I know of a half a dozen books from Amazon with “Slut” in the title, such as: The Ethical Slut,
The Perfect Slut
Campus slut
Cyber slut
Filthy Slut
Slut Abducted
Nympho: How I Met my Adorable Slut Wife
And my personal favorite title: Grandmother Was Slut Shamed: Me and Nana Too
(If you are inspired to purchase any of the above books, PLEASE consider sourcing them somewhere other than Amazon.)

So, you can imagine my shock and confusion when after 3 years of writing, editing and designing my new book, “The Sacred Slut Sutras,” Amazon flat out refused to list and or promote it. The only excuse I was given was that it “contained content that is in violation of our content guidelines.” They refused to offer any specifics or further info about what content was offensive.

After extensive research all I could find is this guideline from Amazon:

“Offensive Material: What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect. Amazon Digital Services, Inc. reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of Titles sold on our site.”

Seeking clarity, I called an Amazon representative and they told me that “someone at Amazon must have flagged the book cover.” When I asked if there was any way to un-flag it they said, I could try re-publishing a whole new edition of the book with a new cover and ISBN number. So that’s exactly what I did, and $300 later, guess what? They CENSORED me again!

You can compare the 1st & 2nd editions covers here:
Original Edition: http://amzn.to/1RBmFPD
New Edition: http://amzn.to/1pg7XSM

I was just informed by Amazon that due to the adult content of my new book, it will not come up when searched, even by title. It is hidden under “adult themes” so even if someone knows to search BOTH the title of the book PLUS my name (and manage to spell everything correctly) they still can’t find it under Adult Content.

To be fair, I’m not categorically against censorship. I am constantly censoring violence, slander and misinformation, especially in front of my child, and as a public figure I understand the world may not be ready to hear ALL the gritty details of my kinky, queer life. Censorship is simply “the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.”  Since Amazon is a private entity, they are entitled to promote or sell whatever they want. HOWEVER, as an independent artist who wants to participate in their platform, don’t I deserve to know the specifics of their company policies?

For example, are they pro-rape or against it?

One author who has suffered from Amazon censorship is: Kyle Michel Sullivan who wrote: How To Rape A Straight Guy & Rape In Holding Cell 6. 

And YET Amazon carries a number of books that seemingly support rape including the “Bang” books by Roosh V (Daryush Valizadeh). Through this series, the author teaches men how to get away with rape and campaigning to make rape legal. Why doesn’t Amazon pull this book? Even after 250,000 people have signed a petition asking Amazon to stop selling it?  Perhaps they are simply making too much money off him.

Which begs the question: was the Sacred Slut Sutras removed from their cyber bookshelf because I’m an unknown underdog that doesn’t have a big publisher to fight for me, or because I’m trying to use citizen journalism to get my leftist, feminist, sexually liberating message out?