Sex (book) 590089 225428429 2008-07-13T17:21:16Z WackyBoots 6219642 better to use a generic term, not a brand name {{unref|article|date=June 2008}} {{otheruses2|Sex}} {{infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> | name = Sex | orig title = | translator = | image = [[Image:Cover of Madonna's Sex Book.jpg|<center>.jpg|175px]] | author = [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] | cover_artist = | country = [[United States]] | language = [[English language|English]] | series = | genre = | publisher = [[Warner Books]] | release_date = [[October 21]], [[1992]] | media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]]) | pages = | isbn = ISBN 0-446-51732-1 | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''Sex''''' is a highly-designed [[coffee table book]] written by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] with photographs by [[Steven Meisel|Steven Meisel Studio]] and [[film frame]]s taken from film shot by Fabien Baron. ''Sex'' was released on [[October 21]], [[1992]] by [[Warner Books]]. The book was released by Madonna as an accompaniment to her fifth studio album ''[[Erotica (album)|Erotica]]'', which was released a day earlier ([[October 20]] [[1992]]). The extremely controversial book featured strong adult content and [[softcore pornography|softcore pornographic]] photographs depicting simulations of sexual acts, which included [[lesbianism]], [[homosexuality]], [[sadomasochism]] and [[anilingus]]. Madonna wrote the book as a character named Mistress Dita, inspired by the silent film actress [[Dita Parlo]]. Featured in the book, aside from unknown models, are actress [[Isabella Rossellini]], rappers [[Big Daddy Kane]] and [[Vanilla Ice]], model [[Naomi Campbell]], gay porn star [[Joey Stefano]], actor [[Udo Kier]], the European socialite [[Tatiana von Furstenberg]], and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares. For the release of ''Sex'' Madonna gave a party at New York City's Industria Superstudio, which she attended dressed as [[Little Bo Peep]] with a stuffed toy lamb. 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 film|Super 8 mm]]). Many [[Film still|stills]] from Baron's film were used in the book. == History == [[Warner Bros. Records]] and [[Time Warner]] executives were reluctant to allow [[Madonna (entertainer)|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]]. Not long after signing this agreement Madonna founded [[Maverick (entertainment company)|Maverick]], a multi-media entertainment company. Since by contract she had total artistic control over any of the work released by Maverick, the agreement she signed with Time Warner 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"&mdash;a photo where she is tied à la [[BDSM|S&M]] on a low cross-shaped table surrounded by candles with a large [[crucifix]] displayed on the wall 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&mdash;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."'' Madonna had originally intended to call the book ''X'' but changed her mind when [[Spike Lee]]'s upcoming film ''[[Malcolm X (film)|Malcolm X]]'' began to be promoted&mdash;the film was released three weeks after the book, and inspired the fashion trend 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. == 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 (Madonna album)|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 metallized plastic cover of the book (a colored reverse negative), which Madonna also used for the cover of her ''Erotica'' album. 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 or Japanese translation printed over it, and any text that could not have the translated text printed over it was included at the back of the book on additional pages. In the Japanese version, Madonna had any photos that included visible genitalia "scribbled out". Included with the book is a CD single. It contains a more subdued version of the song "[[Erotica (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 12" picture-disc released in the UK of the song "Erotica"). The song includes alternate spoken verse taken from the book's opening pages. [[Image:Sexmak10.jpg|thumb|left|329px|<center>Fashion Photographer Fabien Baron filming Madonna on Miami Beach in the summer of 1992 with Super 8 mm for the book ''Sex''. Madonna's ''Sex Book Video'' includes footage from this particular shoot. A photo from this shoot was used for the metallized platic cover of ''Sex'' as well as Madonna's album ''[[Erotica (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. The [[English language]] release of ''Sex'' 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 language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Japanese language|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, and aside from the translated text and differences in paper quality, they are identical to the English language version. The Japanese version was printed on art paper of far higher quality than that of the English, French and Italian versions. 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 metallized plastic cover as ''"Madonna Sex"'', the Japanese language release had the title printed as ''"Sex by Madonna"'' on the metallized plastic cover. Books that were printed in languages such as [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Thai language|Thai]], or [[Russian language|Russian]] 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. == Release == [[Image:Sexbook1s.jpg|thumb|right|200px|<center>Prototype edition mylar cover of Madonna's book ''Sex'']] [[Image:Madonna sex 0241658 erotic.png|thumb|Packaging for the promotional CD of the song ''Erotica'', which was included with the book and seems to represent a condom packet.]] A huge public "buzz" preceded the book's release, which took place on [[October 21]], [[1992]], generating massive publicity. Several organizations tried to boycott the sale of the book, while many book stores refused to carry it. There were many 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". 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. The day after the release of the book [[MTV]] aired a special called ''The Day In Madonna'' hosted by [[Kurt Loder]] (the title of this special was 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, including a sex therapist and group of real-life New York City [[Dominatrix|Dominatrices]], to view it. 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 all of the proceeds going to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund [[AIDS]] research. 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 that 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. Now long [[out of print]], ''Sex'' is very valuable&mdash;prices for a brand-new unopened first edition can start at [[United States dollar|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 and being banned shortly after its release, an unopened edition can start at prices as high as [[United States dollar|USD]]400. Madonna later responded to the negative publicity and controversy with her 1994 song "[[Human Nature (Madonna song)|Human Nature]]", which was included on her album ''[[Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)|Bedtime Stories]]''. The song is considered one of Madonna's most personal. Powerful in its message, the song contains the repeated phrase ''"express yourself, don't repress yourself"'', while in the chorus Madonna sings to her critics, ''"I'm not sorry. It's human nature. I'm not your bitch. Don't hang your shit on me."'' According to the [[American Library Association]], ''Sex'' was the eighteenth-most challenged book in libraries in the 1990s.[http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/top100challenged.htm] == Video == Many of the photos in the book ''Sex'' are actually [[film frame]]s. Photographers from Steven Meisel Studio shot many of the sessions with regular photography, while fashion photographer Fabian Baron shot a number of the sessions on video, including super 8 mm. Baron used the footage for the video for the song ''[[Erotica (song)|Erotica]]'', which he directed. Madonna and Baron compiled an hour of his 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 vintage French [[chanson]]s from the 1930s through the 1950s 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. Copies of the original 60-minute edit with the original french-noir soundtrack once went for prices as high as [[United States dollar|USD]]500&mdash;even more expensive than the book itself, though it is now commonly available for free thanks to the popularisation of file sharing and fan sites. ==External links== * {{imdb title|id= 0885519 |title=Sex}} {{Madonna}} [[Category:Photographic collections and books]] [[Category:Books by Madonna]] [[Category:1992 books]] [[Category:Unreleased films]] [[de:SEX]] [[fr:SEX (livre)]] [[it:Sex (libro)]] [[nl:Sex (boek)]] [[ja:SEX (写真集)]] [[pt:SEX]] [[ru:Секс (книга)]]