When Amazon Erased My Book

Princeton Alumnus Is Concerned by Decision 

Ryan T. Anderson knew his book would be controversial in some circles. When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment provided a robust scientific, philosophical, medical, and legal examination of our nation’s rapidly changing understanding of transgenderism as soon as it was released a little over three years ago. A Princeton alumnus ('04) and speaker for Christian Union events, Anderson earned his Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. 

Ryan Anderson speaks at Christian Union's Nexus Conference in 2018.

Sexual ideology is currently being debated in the public square with proposed legislation such as The Equality Act, so it’s no surprise that Anderson’s careful and cautious approach that weighs matters of ethics with science poses a threat to the social movement towards what Anderson calls "the new orthodoxy of gender ideology." 

But just weeks ago, opposition to Anderson’s book dramatically increased as Amazon removed it from their site—an enormous blow considering that Amazon accounts for 83% of all book sales. This radical act of censorship is being investigated, but as Anderson asks, “Perhaps they’re citing a religious objection to selling my book? Or maybe they only sell books with which they agree? (If so, they have a lot of explaining to do about why they carry Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.)”

In this age of swiftly shifting cultural understandings of what it means to be a human, how our identity is formed, and exploring the ethics of personhood, instilling a biblical worldview in college students and young professionals has never been more important. Christian Union doesn’t shy away from tough conversations around gender and sexuality and intentionally sets aside a five-week seminary-grade study of Christian sexual ethics. Entitled Sex and Spirituality, gifted ministry faculty lead college freshmen through the beautiful, rich, and trustworthy texts of scripture that speak to our sexuality with the goal that a future generation of political, legal, and cultural leaders will be prepared to lead our nation in godly ways.