Amazon has decided to make available again the book ‘When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement’ that had previously caused controversy. The author, Ryan T. Anderson, had been banned by the retail giant for the past four years.
After the book was relisted, Anderson expressed his gratitude on social media, acknowledging the support of his ‘friends and allies’ who advocated for its reinstatement.
‘Love to see it. After a four year ban, Amazon has returned my book to their cyber shelves,’ he said on X.
This book seeks to offer insightful perspectives on various aspects of the ‘transgender movement’ and sheds light on the stark differences between the idealized portrayal by the media and the harsh realities faced by individuals dealing with gender-identity challenges.
After being published in 2018, the book quickly rose to the top of two of Amazon’s bestseller lists, but in February 2021 – just after former President Joe Biden took office – Amazon pulled it from its website.
Responding to the decision, Anderson told DailyMail.com that he’s happy Amazon admitted ‘they made a bad decision.’
‘I’m glad that the company is able to admit they made a bad decision four years ago. However, the statement they put out attempting to explain away their mistake is pathetic,’ he said.
‘There is nothing remotely objectionable in my book and nothing remotely approaching “hate speech.” For Amazon to continue to insist that the book is borderline “hate speech” and that it is a tough call on whether or not to sell it is nothing short of ridiculous.’
On Tuesday, Amazon relisted the controversial book ‘When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement’ after banning it from the platform in February 2021
The novel’s conservative author Ryan T. Anderson took to social media Wednesday sharing the news, thanking his ‘friends and allies who pushed for this to happen’
Amazon initially defended its decision to pull the book in 2018, stating that it ‘challenges the transgender movement’ because it does not allow books that ‘frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.’
On Friday, Amazon released a statement explaining why the company chose to backtrack, noting that a big factor was that other retailer’s continued to sell the book.
‘Balancing free speech and content that could be construed as hate speech is one of the most difficult adjudication decisions we make as a company. A few years ago, we removed “When Harry Became Sally” from our store after concluding that it violated our guidelines prohibiting books that promote hate speech. This was not an easy decision and was hotly debated,’ the company said.
‘Since then, many other retailers (e.g. Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Powell’s, etc.) have continued to sell this book, and we’ve continued to receive feedback from customers that the ideas presented in this book, while controversial, should be available for those who want to read and understand the perspective of its author.
‘The combination of our peer retailers continuing to sell the book and the ongoing feedback made us re-examine our decision.
‘As was the case when we reviewed the book a few years ago, it was not an easy decision, but we concluded that we erred on the side of being too restrictive last time, and decided to return the book to our store,’ the statement concluded.
Anderson said he believes Amazon made a ‘purely political move’ in reversing its decision.
‘I think this is purely a political move. Four years ago, with the Biden administration, they thought that they were on the right side of history. And now, four years later, they see that they’re not,’ he told Fox News Digital.
After being published in 2018, the book quickly rose to the top of two of Amazon’s bestseller lists, but soon after former President Joe Biden took office, Amazon pulled it from its website, stating that it does not allow books that ‘frame LGBTQ + identity as a mental illness’
‘My guess is that they didn’t want the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation,’ he added.
At the time, Brian Huseman, Amazon’s Vice President of Public Policy, sent a letter to Republican senators defending the company’s decision to ban the book, while many big name political leaders disagreed.
Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri then accused the company of ‘openly signaling to conservative Americans that their views are not welcome on its platforms.’
Anderson, who is also the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), rejected Amazon’s claims about his book, saying that ‘nowhere’ in it did he frame LGBTQ identity as a mental illness.
He said that the book, which has been praised by academics at several Ivy League universities, had ‘nothing remotely hateful’ inside.
Amazon officially decided to welcome the book back to its website on Tuesday, but according to Anderson, he was never directly contacted by the company about why it happened.
‘I do think professionally, the attempt here was to discredit me because of the timing of when the book was banned,’ he told the outlet.
‘It was a Sunday right before former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduled the vote on the Equality Act,’ he continued, adding that he is a big critic of the transgender rights bill.
He noted that ever since President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the government will only recognize two sexes – male and female – he and his organization have tried to push Amazon to allow his book to sell on the platform again.
Biden’s State Department has allowed since 2022 for people to select a third gender, labeled X, on their passports. They did not require Americans to provide medical documentation to be able to choose this option.
Now, the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies are tasked with enforcing the directive that will apply only male or female to passports, visas and other government documents.
A White House official said the order is about ‘restoring sanity.’
At the time, Brian Huseman (pictured in 2021), Amazon’s Vice President of Public Policy, sent a letter to Republican senators defending the company’s decision to ban the book, while many big name political leaders disagreed
After Anderson shared the news on X, many people congratulated him while also blasting Amazon for banning the book in the first place.
Andrew Ferguson, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said: ‘Glad to see it, but it shouldn’t take an election for this to happen.
‘I still want to know why this book got banned, and understand the market conditions that make it possible for a retailer to refuse to sell a popular book for four years.’
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas also commented on the book being relisted, saying: ‘There are two genders’ isn’t a controversial statement—it’s basic biology.
‘Amazon should never have de-listed the book When Harry Became Sally. As Chairman of the @SenateCommerce Committee, I will continue holding Big Tech platforms accountable for censoring opposing views.’
DailyMail.com contacted Amazon for comment. The FTC told DailyMail.com: ‘We have no comment.’
