Sex - Madonna [Hardcover]

When this book was first published it was a revelation on several fronts. It was compiled by the greatest pop icon of the time Madonna, it has a metal casing and was sold sealed and it was madonna's attempt to shock and it did. I only managed to get my copy recently and though it is now over 16 years old it is a masterpiece and collectors item. Ok the shockability has gone. Talking about anal sex is no longer taboo and the images of a naked lady is commonplace, though this is of course Madonna in her prime. I wonder if she regrets publishing this now?

All in all I like the images and I like the format. I collect photographic and art books and this is now a well respected addition to my collection..

Back when Madonna was a rebel (she still is to some degree) she brought out books like Sex, her albums were experimental concept affairs and her obsession back then was with Sexuality, the norms and values encompassing it and womens sexual opression at the hands of men through industries such as porn. Miles away from todays Madonna and her agenda of poverty, homeless kids and starving nations, Madonna was always about fighting the good fight no matter what the cause, as long as someone was being opressed, she was there at the helm.

Sex came at a time when gay people were being ridiculed as the sole cause of the HIV/AIDS epedemic in the states, Madonna had lived and breathed gay culture since a teenager and this blame/homophobia enfuriated her. Sexual repression and homophobia was rife in America due to clamp down laws on pornography, sexual freedom was being restricted everywhere, no more so than in pop music where the censors targeted black R&B groups for overt language and criticism of middle class white America. Madonna saw this as bigoted stance by puritans ready to cast out societies misfits. Middle America was on a clean up campaign which many including Madonna saw as an infringment on the counties celebrated freedom of speech and expression beliefs. So added to the debate by producing a book of her own Erotic fantasies which portrayed her take on sexuality and sex in a way SHE wanted it to be seen, she wanted to portay her own ideals of sex from the stand point of a straight, white woman and not as the object of some male, media hungry tycoon exploiting women the way the pornographic industry had done for decades. This was all good, outstanding actually but most people (including the male dominated media) missed it and her point totally. The press actually felt extremely threatened by her and labelled her as anything from a tramp to a whore and everything in between, she was in reality a sexual woman in control. So, infuriated by this they started what would become a decade long witch hunt which eventually ended when Madonna took the conservative lead role of Evita some 4-5 years later. Even with the passing of time references to the book and her sexploits still reared its ugly head, for example in interviews about her golden globe winning portrayal of Eva Peron, many journalists still asked wether she regreted the Sex book, defiantly she answered NO, everytime. And so the battle continued to rage between an ever staunch Madonna and her surprising enemy, the media... the people whom made her what she is, the biggest selling, most succesful female icon of all time. As for the book Sex, ask any ardent Madonna fan and they will tell you straight, its a bible, a bible for the opressed, outcast and persecuted peoples whom are different either in sexual orientation or those with differing practices to the norm. Gay men and women hold the book dear to their hearts and close to their chests despite having only fleeting images and references to homosexuality and their practices. The book tells of tales between Madonna and non-fictional characters through a journey of liberation and discovery, sexual awakening and beyond. Dame Helen Mirren claims this publication to be the single most liberating piece of art for woman kind ever, she goes on to discuss its relavence in pushing forward the envelope and helping women to lose the final chains of chastity and opression that the sex had suffered at the hands of greedy male exploitation through the pornographic industry, "Sex" turned sex on its head!, Madonna beat them at their own game. Ok so it didnt change the way the lay person felt about women but it paved the way for others to think, think and act outside the box, it gave courage to women to think away from men, if you were in a position to do so, do it! Ask no mans permission was the mission statement and to some degree it worked. Forget Germaine Greere and Janet Street-Porters criticism of men, this really booted them where it hurt, the wallet! Madonna made billions for Warners from this book whom at first refused to have anything to do with it, they wanted her to produce a diary like book with soft core confessions to accompany the album Erotica... not Madonna, she wanted a full on production, a book that would portray women in a way they wanted to be portrayed and Madonna being Madonna, she got her way. Warners made billions from the project and Madonna put the world of celebrity and middle class America on its head, and despite a shunning from her general fans, her core gay following celebrated the world over and encompassed her like never before, Sex had achieved what it set out to achieve, raise the voice of those whom could not be heard in our society the most.

As for the book itself, its simply fascinating, beautiful in parts yet grimacing in others, not because she looks ugly, no, but because she makes you think, think about concepts that we, or society turns away from, hides in the closet. Homosexuality, bi-sexuality, the age gap between couples, S&M, self pleasure... the list goes on. For most parts its a chuckle, tongue in cheek humor is inter mixed with stunning photography and dodgy celebrities aside its a visual feast. No wonder Madonna has become the most celebrated clothes horse the world over, here she's like a super model, at one time Monroe, the next Debbie Harry. In my opinion shes more beautiful than both, Fabien Barron and Stephen Meisel capture her childlike innocence and raw sexuality with stunning results. I dont think shes ever looked as good! BUT this beauty and its content caused her a set back, like a mistep really, a knock on effect was the poor sales and reaction to her accompanying album Erotica, which like the book was actually quite good. But the press used the album and book to hit her where it hurt most, her reputation, why? for daring to be different and speaking out. Madonna was lauded as being a visionary on a par with Elvis and Michael Jackson, hits such as Like A Prayer and Live To Tell had helped garner her a noble like status, the Queen of Pop she was referred to and guaranteed to produce a hit no mater what. But for a moment the book changed all that. Commercially her albums thereafter suffered as the press encouraged fans to boycott her ideas and music, suddenly it became taboo to be a Madonna fan, something inconcievable a decade earlier. But if theres one good thing Madonna is good at then thats damage control (im thinking her reaction to the playboy photos in 1985... "im not ashamed of my body" her tour projections screamed in 1986), so out rolled the calm Bedtime Stories album, the yearning ballads of Evita and the pre-raphaelite vibes of her greatest achievement, Ray Of Light. Would any of these projects have ever been born if Sex had been a critical success? One has to ponder that thought for a moment... But for all the books controversy only one thing remains true and that is that no star since has ever been as provocative or down right as brave and thats a shame, a real shame. Most people would rather praise the likes of Kylie and Britney, the electro pop tease tarts whom flirt like teenagers despite their increasing age, but never go any further than raising a few eyebrows, why? because they are safe, mouldable and compliant with what the media want us to see, the anti Madonna if you will, the women men want, obedient, compliant and sexual only to their needs. But who wants to live in a world like that??? Not me. Sex was and still is the greatest achievement by Madonna or any other artist for that matter. Never again would anyone be so daring or so brave and i hope one day this era of hers and the Sex book is celebrated and praised the way it should have been all those years ago. Its a piece of artistic history everyone should own, a piece of the real Madonna and evidence why she's head and shoulders above the rest nearly 4 decades into her astonishing career.

The book was complete with comic strip and cd as advertised.
The package was in used but good condition and was dispatched in a timely and efficient way by the seller - a good buy.