All I want for Christmas is Sex.
What do S&M, Udo Kier and puppy fucking have in common? So glad you asked! They’re all in Madonna’s Sex book, see. Say what you want about her current honey locks and spandex ass, back in the 90s this woman owned.
Owned with a capital “O”, no matter what it took as this book goes to some length to prove. Inside the brushed metal cover are photos in Steven Meisel’s signature iconic style alongside some fairly gritty fetish scenes, all accompanied by erotic writing by Madonna herself.
Clickng below probably not safe for work, as you might have guessed.
Despite its graphic subject matter I have an impossible time seeing Sex as anything other than art. Of course, the fashion in this book is wonderful when anyone’s actually wearing clothes, but there’s more. Much like the characters of the often filthy work of Franz Von Bayros we’ve talked about here before, everyone just looks so… elated. Madonna and everyone around her are confident, empowered and enjoying themselves, no matter how perverse the act.
From Madonna Online: “All text appearing in the book is written by Madonna herself, however most of it is written from the point-of-view from the fictional character Dita (inspired by silent film star Dita Parlo) – a character appearing several times in Madona’s work in the years 1992 and 1993. As Dita, she writes about her feelings, longings and her lust for sex.”
Madonna has in recent history mentioned having regrets about the indulgence of her shock value days, but why? A few of her fashion choices, maybe, but certainly there’s no cause for regret in relation to the Sex. It’s a timeless gorgeously executed testament to beauty and perversion in the name of sex-positivity and fun.
Sex sold out immediately when it hit stores on 1992, and is out of print, though can be found on eBay and the like at somewhat painful costs. Fortunately, most of the pages can be seen here.
December 15th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I can only agree. Except for those Vanilla Ice images. :P
December 15th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Actually, I was working at Atkins Library’s Special Collections dept. when this book first came out. The single most frequent comment visitors made after viewing it was “I’m glad I didn’t pay $50 for it!”
December 15th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Jerem, I can’t believe you’re dissin’ on the Ice!
Erin, I wonder why people didn’t like it – I think it’s brilliant.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. And for the links to the book online.
I can remember buying the book the day that it came out. I was a young lad, working at my first job out of college, and I wandered over to some bookstore on Market Street (Stacey’s, perhaps) to pick up the book at lunchtime. When I brought it back to the office, a bunch of us perused the book at the receptionist’s desk, until the general counsel wandered over to see what all the commotion was about.
December 15th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I remember working at Tower Records when this came out – we all crowded around and opened one up (ridiculous mylar packaging), and prying the metal plates apart, the first thing I said was “What the hell did they do, xerox this stuff onto construction paper?”. The book design was horrid, and aside from the minor thrill of finally seeing Madonna’s nipples, we all agreed that it was the World’s Biggest Scam to Date. It may have been shocking at the time in, say, Ohio, but this was a Southern California Tower Records, we had seen the first Taschen books and European fetish mags come through, and we were not impressed….
December 15th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
no joke, i was just looking at madonna’s sex book online 2 nights ago.
December 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am
And now she writes children’s stories.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I remembered being disappointed by it. Mainly cause the hype at the time far outweighed the quality of the book. I thought the shock factor would be higher but it turned out to be a bit of a dud…of course years later when I looked through it again I had to agree it was quite good on many levels. Though as another stated…once Taschen started putting out a whole slew of great tomes in the late 90’s that you couls score pretty much anywhere…this book became a curious little oddity mainly for collectors and those who missed the initial hype. A shame no pop star today would do this…sadder still the “biggest pop star” today in the press is some crazy starbucks addict who’s constantly knocked up…can’t believe I actually MISS the Madonna of old as much as I do.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I have the book under my bed. it is what I go to when I want to see Vanilla Ice and Madonna together (jokingly)
i enjoy the views in the pages…i almost adore the writings..she was so honest and now I wonder what her daughter would think when she is able to get her hands on a copy and think what was my mother thinking?!?!
and yes she owned most def.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:47 am
the MADONNA is great,,beatifull.wonderfull.I loveyou MADONNA
April 13th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Please be careful, I think Madonna copyrighted the phrase “puppy fucking” …