Thai book sellers Se-ed has demanded that publishers put clear warnings of "adult content" on the cover of books dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LBGT) or sexually explicit content.

According to Isra News Agency the Se-Ed letter asks publishing houses to reconsider or screen books with "suggestive" content, as follows:

1.)   LBGT literature

2.)   Student prostitution

3.)   Deviant sexual behaviour

4.)   Sex in public locations

5.)   Sexual abuse of non-spouses, children, youth and women, and incest

6.)   Arousing graphic details of sexual intercourse

The company threatens to return books that do not comply with these warning guidelines, at the distributors' expense.

The letter was dated Nov 8 and signed by Nattaya Sriyuyong, the head of the buying department.

According to the Isra report, the letter has met with strong criticism from social groups who claim to be writers and LBGT activists. They say that Se-ed's requirements are too broad, particularly the first rule which clearly discriminates against homosexuality.

The groups are now organising a petition on social media against the bookstore. More than 130,000 people have already clicked "like" on their cause.

A number of Facebook accounts have changed their profile photos to a crossed out Se-ed logo with a message "We are against the banning of LGBT literature by Se-ed bookstores".

Wiroj Lakkanaadisorn, representative from Se-ed, said Thursday evening the company had no intention of censoring books or halting sales. Instead, the letter aimed to bring distributors on board with a plan to separate books in a category of children’s literature from those in a category of erotic literature. The company had received complaints from parents that some children's books actually contained erotic content, and this was not clear from the book's cover.

The company had discussed the issue with publishing houses and book distributiors, Mr Wiroj said, but the same problem continued, prompting the letter. He claimed concise language in the letter may lead to misunderstandings, and the company would soon issue an official statement clarifying the incident. 

He confirmed Se-ed had no policies against sexual diversity and human rights, and said the company had transgender employees who have been promoted to high positions.

Related search: Adult content, book labeling, homosexuality, sexually explicit