Sex is the title of a highly-designed coffee table book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames shot by Fabien Baron, released October 21, 1992 by Warner Books. The book was released by Madonna as an accompaniment to her fifth studio album Erotica, which was released a day earlier (October 20, 1992). The extremely controversial book featured strong adult content and softcore pornographic photographs depicting simulations of sexual acts, which included lesbianism, male homosexuality, sadomasochism, anilingus, and rape. Madonna wrote all of the erotica in the book as a character named Mistress Dita, inspired by the silent film actress Dita Parlo. Image File history File links Madonnasecbookcover. ... Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), better known as simply Madonna, is a six-time Grammy[1] and one-time Golden Globe award winning American pop singer, songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. ... In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... Coffee table book on coffee table A coffee table book is a hardcover book that rests on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. ... Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), better known as simply Madonna, is a six-time Grammy[1] and one-time Golden Globe award winning American pop singer, songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. ... Steven Meisel (born 1954) is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his photographs of friend Madonna in the latters 1992 book Sex designed by Fabien Baron and for his work in US and Italian Vogue. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Erotica is the sixth album by singer Madonna, released in 1992 (see 1992 in music). ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... This article is about homosexual women, not inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos A lesbian (lowercase L) is a homosexual woman. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... 14th century manuscript illustration of the accusations of sodomy against the Knights Templar Anal_oral contact (commonly referred to as anilingus and colloquially known as rimming or tossing salad) is sexual activity involving contact between the anus or perianal areas of one person and the mouth of another. ... Erotica (from the Greek language Eros - love) — refers to works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or arousing descriptions. ... Dita Parlo (September 4, 1906 - December 13, 1971) was a film actress. ...

Featured in the book, aside from unknown faces, are model Naomi Campbell, actress Isabella Rossellini, rappers Big Daddy Kane and Vanilla Ice, gay porn star Joey Stefano, actor Udo Kier, the European socialite Tatiana von Furstenberg, and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares. For the release Madonna gave a party at New York City's Industria Superstudio, for which she attended dressed as Little Bo Peep with a stuffed toy lamb. Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is an iconic British supermodel, actress, singer and author. ... Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born June 18, 1952 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former supermodel. ... Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a rapper from the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, New York. ... Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1968), better known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known mostly for the 1990 single Ice Ice Baby. He found major mainstream success and was the first commercially successful white rapper, selling 20... Joey Stefano (January 1, 1968 - November 26, 1994) was an American pornographic actor (porn star) who appeared in gay adult films. ... Udo Kier, promotional photo Udo Kier (born Udo Kierspe, October 14, 1944 in Cologne, Germany) is a German actor. ... Princes Tatiana is the daughter of Prince Egon and Princess Diane von Furstenberg. ... William Wallace Denslows illustrations for Little Bo Pee, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose Little Bo Peep, according to Denslow Little Bo Peep is an eponymous character from a nursery rhyme. ...

Aside from Steven Meisel himself, photographers from his studio were also employed. The book credits Michael Stratton, Darren Lew, Line Barzudkas, Stephen Callaghan, and Chris Hobson. Fabien Baron, one of the book's designers, also shot many of the photo sessions on film (mostly on Super 8 mm), with many film frames taken from this footage being used in the book. Kodachrome 40 KMA464P Super 8 Catridge Super 8 mm film, also called Super 8 is a motion picture film format that was developed in the 1960s and released on the market in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older 8mm home movie format, and the Cine 8...

History

Poster advertising the release of Sex, 1992

Warner Bros. executives were reluctant to allow Madonna to make such a book, and though they eventually gave her permission, they remained greatly opposed to the idea. Madonna was made to sign an agreement that forbade her from including any photographs depicting religious imagery, bestiality, or child pornography. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 154 × 597 pixel Image in higher resolution (250 × 969 pixel, file size: 63 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Poster advertising the relase of Madonnas book Sex, 1992. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 154 × 597 pixel Image in higher resolution (250 × 969 pixel, file size: 63 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Poster advertising the relase of Madonnas book Sex, 1992. ... Warner Bros. ... Look up Bestiality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Child pornography refers to pornographic material depicting children. ...

Not long after signing this agreement Madonna took the helm of Maverick Recording Company, a multi-media label. Since by contract she had total artistic control over any of the work released by Maverick, the agreement she signed with Warner Bros. concerning what not to do in Sex became obsolete. As a "tongue-in-cheek" way of demonstrating her power to the executives who had so vehemently opposed the book, Madonna included two photographs that "broke the rules"—a photo where she is tied à la S&M on a low cross-shaped table surrounded by candles with a large crucifix behind her, and another photo of her kneeling on the ground with a dog underneath her on its back, creating the impression that she is straddling the animal while it is giving her oral sex. However, should one look closely at the photograph, one will see that Madonna is not straddling the dog's head at all, but rather kneeling on both knees beside the dog. Warner Bros. commented that Sex was very difficult to produce, requiring contributions from many different printing and publishing companies, with Mighty Dimension Inc. coordinating the project—LTI, Bishop Studio, Master Eagle Graphic Design, and Shorewood Packaging, all based in New York City; as well as Laserscan Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona; Benson and Palmer in Newport, Rhode Island; Mohawk Papermills in Cohoes, New York; C&H Packaging Company Inc. in Merrill, Wisconsin; and Nicholstone in Nashville, Tennessee. At some point while the book was being produced some of the photographs were stolen, prompting an FBI investigation that quickly recovered the photos. In the credits of the book Madonna thanks the FBI for "...rescuing photographs that would have made J. Edgar Hoover roll over." Maverick Records, known on music channels as Maverick Recording Company, is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. ... Sarcasm is the making of remarks intended to mock the person referred to (who is normally the person addressed), a situation or thing. ... A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. Female bottom in bondage with leather monoglove BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... The Crucifix, a cross with corpus, a symbol used in Catholicism in contrast with some other Christian communions, which use only a cross. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ... Newport is a city in Newport County, Rhode Island, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. ... Cohoes is a city located at the northeast corner Albany County, New York, USA. It is called the Spindle City because of the importance of textile production to its growth. ... Merrill is a city located in Lincoln County, Wisconsin. ... Nickname: Location in Davidson County and the state of Tennessee Coordinates: Country United States State Tennessee Counties Davidson County Founded: 1779 Incorporated: 1806 Government  - Mayor Bill Purcell (D) Area  - City  526. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an influential but controversial director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ...

Madonna had originally intended to call the book X, but changed her mind when Spike Lee's upcoming film Malcolm X began to be promoted (the film was released three weeks after the book), as well as the fashion trend at the time of wearing hats and shirts with a large X in honor of Malcolm X. Madonna wanted the book to be of an oval shape, but the printing and manufacturing of such a book would have been too expensive. In the end, the original design for the X title and shape of the book were only retained on the back cover (see below) and on the accompanying CD and its packaging. This section has been identified as trivia. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ...

Design and Printing

Sex was designed by Madonna and Baron & Baron Inc. (consisting of Fabien Baron and the photographer Siung Fat Tjia), who also designed the packaging for Madonna's Erotica album and single. The book is largely presented in a style not far off from Andy Warhol's works, namely the famous shot on the mylar cover of the book (a colored reverse negative), which Madonna also used for the cover of her Erotica album. Erotica is the sixth album by singer Madonna, released in 1992 (see 1992 in music). ... Andy Warhol was a amazing artist (August 6, 1928 — February 22, 1987) was an American artist who became a central figure in the movement known as pop art. ...

Certain pages include images that are collages of ripped and pasted prints, proof sheets, entire pages in monochromes and full color, and other collages of photos that look as though they were stapled together. The text of the book varies from handwritten to printed, with eye-bending styles of typefaces and colors. In the French, Italian and Japanese versions of the book any printed text that was not printed in these complex typefaces had the French, Italian and Japanese translation printed over it, and any text that could not have the translation printed over it was translated in the back of the book on additional pages. In the Japanese version, Madonna had any photos that included visible genitalia to be "scribbled out".

Included with the book is a CD single. It contains a more subdued version of the song Erotica, titled Erotic, which was only released via the book (this version of the song was also released in an edited version on a promotional-only LP picture-disc released in the UK of the song Erotica). The song includes alternate spoken verse taken from the book's opening pages. Erotica track listing Erotica (1) Fever (2) GHV2 track listing Deeper and Deeper (7 edit) (1) Erotica (radio edit) (2) Human Nature (radio version) (3) Erotica was the first single from Madonnas 1992 album Erotica. ...

Fashion Photographer Fabien Baron filming Madonna on Miami Beach in the summer of 1992 with Super 8mm for the book Sex. Madonna's Sex Book Video includes footage from this particular shoot, which is accompanied by the song La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf. A photo from this shoot was used for the mylar cover of Sex as well as Madonna's album Erotica.

There is a small photonovella-style comic bound into the back of the book titled Dita in "The Chelsea Girl" which depicts a party at the Hotel Chelsea in New York City. Allegedly Madonna created the dialogue of the comic book when photographer Steven Meisel placed a stack of randomly ordered photos from one of the book's photo sessions on her desk. He suggested she conjure up a story while maintaining the random order of the photos. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Edith Piaf Édith Piaf (December 19, 1915 - October 11, 1963) was one of Frances most beloved singers, with much success shortly before and during World War II. Her music reflected her tragic life, with her specialty being the poignant ballad presented with a heartbreaking voice. ... Erotica is the fifth studio album (and ninth release) by singer Madonna, released on October 20, 1992. ... The Hotel Chelsea. ...

The English language release of Sex (a.k.a. the U.S. version) was printed in 1.5 million copies in its first edition, and another 1.5 million in its second (Madonna herself is said to own the very first printed copy of the first edition). Warner Books only allowed Sex to be printed in the English, French, Italian, and Japanese languages. The Japanese, French, and Italian language releases all received a 1 million copy printing each for the first edition, and since the Japanese version was banned shortly after its release, it did not receive a second edition printing as the French and Italian versions did. The English version was the only version printed in the United States, while the French, Italian, and Japanese versions were printed in their respective countries (i.e. France, Italy and Japan), and aside from the translated text and differences in paper quality, are identical to the English language version. The Japanese version was printed on art paper of far better quality than that of the English, French and Italian versions. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

The Japanese version was the only release of Sex to be put into a special box. Although all of the other official releases of the book include the title on the mylar cover as Madonna Sex, the Japanese language release had the title printed as Sex by Madonna on the mylar cover.

Books that were printed in languages such as Spanish, Thai, or Russian for example, are all unofficial, and were manufactured without the consent of Madonna or Warner Bros. These versions of the book were printed in a variety of styles, with varying covers and quality.

The Release of Sex

There was a huge public "buzz" prior to the book's release, which took place on October 21, 1992 and generating massive publicity. Several organizations tried to boycott the sale of the book, while many book stores refused to carry it. There were many intensly negative essays by critics that considered Sex to be a calculated controversy timed to boost sales of Madonna's new album. Soon after the release of the book there came a phenomenon which was considered to be a "Madonna backlash", with many people feeling that the singer had finally "gone too far". October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

But in spite of the controversy and negative reviews, Sex sold 150,000 copies on the day of its release in the USA alone. Three days later all 1.5 million copies of the first edition were sold out worldwide, making Sex the most successful coffee table book ever released. The bookstore chain Waldenbooks sold 22,000 copies of the book on the day of its release, and commented to MTV that they had never once seen a book sell out so quickly. Coffee table book on coffee table A coffee table book is a hardcover book that rests on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. ... Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc. ...

The day after the release of the book MTV aired a special called The Day In Madonna hosted by Kurt Loder (the title of the special being a pun of the title of the channel's daily show The Day In Rock), which profiled the release of Madonna's Sex and her new album Erotica, even taking the book to the streets to allow people to view it, which included a sex therapist and group of real-life New York City Dominatrices. MTV also interviewed many people who had viewed the book on the day of its release at the HMV music store in New York City. In celebration of the release of the book, the store held a Madonna look-alike contest and set up a booth where people could view the book for $1.00 a minute, with the all of the money made going to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund AIDS research. Image File history File links Sexinvites. ... MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network headquartered in New York City. ... Promotional photo of Kurt Loder Kurt Loder (born May 5, 1943 in New Jersey) is an American journalist, author, and television personality. ... A dominatrix (from the Latin dominatrix, meaning a female ruler or mistress; plural dominatrices or dominatrixes) or mistress is a woman who takes the dominant role in bondage and discipline, domination and submission or sado-masochistic sexual practices, which are commonly abbreviated as BDSM. The male equivalent is Master. ... Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ...

Since all of the first edition copies of the book sold out so quickly, there was a huge demand for additional copies, with Warner Books deciding to print a second edition of the book.

The Japanese version of the book was released on December 1, 1992, and after a week of being for sale in Japan the book was banned, leaving many book and music chains who purchased copies of the book unable to sell them, prompting these chains to sell the books via the internet. In mint condition, this version of the book is today very valuable. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

Now long out of print, Sex is very valuable—prices for a brand-new unopened 1st edition can start at USD $200 on Amazon.com or eBay.com. As a result of the Japanese version of the book only being printed in 1,000,000 copies (being banned shortly after its release), an unopened edition can start at prices as high as USD $400. ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

Madonna later responded to the negative publicity and controversy with her 1994 song Human Nature, which was included on her album Bedtime Stories. The song is considered one of Madonna's most personal. Powerful in its message, the song contains a repeated phrase "express yourself, don't repress yourself", while in the chorus Madonna sings to her critics "I'm not sorry. Its human nature. I'm not your bitch. Don't hang your shit on me." Human Nature was the fourth and final single from Madonnas 1994 album Bedtime Stories. ... Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album (and the tenth release) by singer Madonna, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). ...

The Sex book video

A screen-shot from Fabien Baron's footage, filmed on Miami beach.

Many of the photos in the book Sex are from film frames. Photographer Steven Meisel shot many of the sessions with regular photography, while fashion photographer Fabian Baron shot the sessions on video, including super 8 mm. Baron used the footage for the video for the song Erotica, which he directed. Image File history File links Erotica_100. ... Image File history File links Erotica_100. ...

Madonna and Baron compiled an hour of the footage for a film that Madonna had played during a party she gave for the release of Sex at New York City's Industria Superstudio. Madonna also had 100 copies of the film made to give to her closest friends. This film boasted a soundtrack of French music from the 1920s and '30s of songs by such singers as Charles Trenet, Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, and Joséphine Baker. At some point in the early to mid-1990s, this film leaked out to the public, and for a time copies of it were sold as The Sex Book Video or as The Making of Sex and Erotica in versions with variations in editing and soundtrack in online markets such as eBay, where occasionally a copy of the film will still turn up for sale. Today copies of the original 60 minute edit with its 1920s/'30s-noir soundtrack can go for prices as high as USD $500—even more expensive than the book itself. Charles Trenet (May 18, 1913, Narbonne, France – February 19, 2001, Créteil, France) was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s. ... Edith Piaf Édith Piaf (December 19, 1915 - October 11, 1963) was one of Frances most beloved singers, with much success shortly before and during World War II. Her music reflected her tragic life, with her specialty being the poignant ballad presented with a heartbreaking voice. ... French singer Maurice Chevalier with stars of Hellzapoppin at Expo 67, in Montreal, Quebec. ... Josephine Baker (or Joséphine Baker in francophone countries) (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975)[1] was an American-born entertainer, most noted for her singing career, while in her early career she was a celebrated dancer and noted actress. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

Gallery

Chinese cover	Thailand's cover	South African cover	South American cover
Box of the japanese release	Complete japanese release set with an alternate version of the box	Complete english language release set	Mylar cover of the English/Japanese/French language releases
Front Cover	Back Cover - originally Madonna planned to title the book "X", and for it to be printed in an oval shape. In the end only the back cover, CD cover, and the CD itself, retained the original "X" logo	Special Bonus CD included with the book of the song Erotic. The "zip-lock" packaging for the CD was designed to resemble a condom wrapper in order promote safe-sex.	English language versions of the book included a serial number pressed into the back cover
The Comic that was included with the book titled Dita in "The Chelsea Girl"	The first page of the book with credits	A promotional stand from the Barnes and Noble book store, with slips (bottom-left) to be filled-out in order to reserve copies of the book in advance	Madonna costumed as Little Bo Peep at the release party for Sex - 11/15/92. On the left is producer Shep Pettibone, on the right is photographer Steven Miesel

Image File history File links Sexasians. ... Image File history File links MadonnaThaiSexs. ... Image File history File links Sexbook1s. ... Image File history File links Spansexs. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (480x640, 113 KB) Summary Cover of the box of the Japanese release of the book Sex by Madonna, 1992. ... Image File history File links Madsexbook2003. ... Image File history File links SexUSSET.jpg‎ Summary Cover of the US release OF Sex by Madonna. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 4h8cas. ... The front cover of the book Sex by Madonna. ... The back cover of the book Sex by Madonna. ... The CD single Erotic included with the book Sex by Madonna. ... An example serial number stamped into the book Sex by Madonna. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (600x802, 204 KB) Summary Cover of the comic book titled Dita in The Chealsea Girl from Madonnas book Sex. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (600x802, 88 KB) Summary alternate cover of Madonnas book Sex. ... Image File history File links Madonna_sex_promo. ... A typical Barnes & Noble bookstore. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (797x1000, 79 KB) Summary photo of singer Madonna taken by anunknown photographer, 1992. ... Shep Pettibone is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. ...

Trivia

• According to the American Library Association, Sex was the eighteenth-most challenged book in libraries in the 1990s. [1]

• Rene Ann Welch says that Sex is one of her favorite books.

ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

External links

• Gallery of Sex on MadonnaOnline.ch
• Sex at the Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

Video

• RADIK ....... SEX.[ ZAT.

See also

Madonna bibliography // Madonna: The Author The English Roses cover In recent years, Madonna has become a very successful author. ...