Sex (book)
LC Class | ML420.M1387 |
Sex is a 1992
Madonna developed Sex after
Madonna's publishers were apprehensive about the release and the book's commercial potential. It was released on October 21, 1992, the day after Madonna's fifth studio album
Sex attracted extensive media attention and backlash, but Madonna remained unapologetic. Though it initially received negative reviews from fans and critics, who felt she had "gone too far", later reviews have been more positive, with academics deeming it a defining phase in Madonna's career. Sex is noted for its social and cultural impact and is considered a bold
Background and development
According to Giselle Benatar of Entertainment Weekly, two versions explain how Madonna came up with the idea for the book. One is that she conceived the idea of an erotic photography book during the shooting of the film A League of Their Own in the summer of 1991.[1] The other is that Judith Regan, vice-president and editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, armed with a proposal for a collection of photo-erotica, flew to Los Angeles in March 1991 to meet with Madonna and her manager Freddy DeMann.[1] She verified Regan had not approached other celebrities with the concept as she was only interested in the project if it was a unique idea.[2] By the end of the meeting Madonna had agreed "in principle" to do a book titled Madonna's Book of Erotica and Sexual Fantasies. She told Regan that DeMann would call her and work out the book's details.[3][4] However, Madonna never got back to Regan who assumed she did not want to go ahead with the idea.[1] Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg has never confirmed nor denied Regan's claim they had an agreement.
According to Benatar Madonna began working on Sex before wrapping up shooting A League of Their Own.
Sex's stylized, sado-masochistic look had a range of influences from punk rock, to early fashion iconoclasts like Guy Bourdin and his surrealism, and Helmut Newton.[8] Photographs from Brassaï's 1933 book Paris de nuit (Paris by Night) also inspired several of the book's series of images.[9][10] The book was also influenced by Robert Mapplethorpe's infamous three-part XYZ portfolio, particularly the X portfolio. Madonna had considered using X as a title during the formative stages of Sex,[9][10] but she changed her mind when promotion for Spike Lee's film Malcolm X began. (It was released three weeks after the book). She would go on to tell Vogue magazine: "We were gonna call it X [...] but then the whole thing with the Malcolm X movie started. At first I thought, 'Fuck it, it's a really good symbol and I thought of it first'. But I realized it might be confusing or look like I was copying Spike [Lee]. Besides, Sex is almost as powerful: it's universal, it doesn't need translation – and it's only two letters more than X."[11]
Madonna hired top-notch talent for the book's development,[9] and counted on the help of friends from the music, film and fashion industry.[12] She hired Fabien Baron as the art director,[13] fashion photographer Steven Meisel, editor Glenn O'Brien, make-up artist Francois Nars and hairstylist Paul Cavaco.[1][6][14] Madonna originally wanted the book to be an oval shape to simulate a condom, but its printing and manufacturing would have been too expensive. Meisel would later comment: "Madonna and I can keep up with each other", noting "I'm doing things to make people think too. It's not really to antagonize or to push people's buttons. It's really to present another way of seeing things."[1]
During the photo sessions for Sex, photographer Steven Meisel was accompanied by art director Fabion Baron who filmed the shoots on
Design and content
Wrapped and sealed in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Mylar bag,[20][21][22] Sex has 128 pages and is spiral bound with an aluminium cover that has the word "Sex" stamped in the middle[14][23] and a warning label.[24] The front page shows Madonna against a sky blue backdrop.[23] Three different types of paper were used for the printing. Madonna and Baron & Baron Inc. (consisting of Fabien Baron and the photographer Siung Fat Tjia), who also collaborated with her designing the cover art for her fifth studio album, Erotica, oversaw the design.[17][25] As this was Maverick's first project, the packaging was crucial. Madonna had no faith in Warner Book's "mass-market" publication process, however, so Baron suggested they transfer the packaging job to Nicholas Callaway's bespoke Callaway Editions.[26] Charles Melcher, the book's co-publisher with Callaway, said they usually published "exquisite art books, $100 high end, beautiful things". It was a challenge for them to process Madonna's ideas into reality. The artist wanted the packaging to be sealed, so the reader had to tear it open to read the book.[26] They considered various kinds of clasps before deciding on a sealed bag as a reference to a condom package. The metal cover was Madonna's idea. She was inspired by the 1979 album Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.[27] Melcher recalls, "We were talking about materials for the cover, and we went into her kitchen. [Madonna] pointed at the metal plate at the back of her stove and said, 'I want something like this'. I was very impressed with the way she interacted with her world to source things".[27] The company bought about 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) of aluminium, roughly a pound for each book. The designers oversaw the production of the front and back covers, which were stamped and anodized while the aluminium was rolling on a press.[27]
The book opens with the introduction: "Everything you are about to see and read is a fantasy, a dream, pretend."[28] Throughout Sex, Madonna offers poems, stories, and essays.[5] She used the pseudonym "Mistress Dita" as an homage to German actress Dita Parlo; her friends in the stories are Bunny, Dex, Stella, Chiclet and Stranger.[3][29] According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, a big part of the book reads like a letter to a pornographic magazine.[3] Madonna wanted to explore the notion of power in Sex. Melcher said she wanted to talk about "gentle and hard, soft and violent [in Sex]. She was playing out all those elements in her book. That was reflected in the materials: uncoated, soft paper on the inside and hard metal coating on the outside".[26]
Like the text—which was mostly printed on the photographs—they are highly sexual and depict
Publication and promotion
The book's imminent release caused a great deal of controversy. One photo showed a nude Madonna wearing a rabbit's tail, shaving the
Madonna claimed she was publishing Sex "to liberate America — free us all of our hang-ups".
Michael Kilian of the Chicago Tribune published a tongue-in-cheek article on October 7, 1992, about the coming release: "Prepare thyself, [...], The mega-event of the millennium is to occur in precisely two weeks. It's an event far more mega than the November election, the collapse of communism or even the crowning of Leanza Cornett as the new Miss America." Kilian went on to write: "The word on the street (which is precisely where it belongs) is that this is the hottest Truly Twisted personal sexual fantasy picture book in all Christendom, that it goes far beyond all previous Truly Twisted personal sexual fantasy picture books-perhaps beyond all imagining what such a book could be.[44]
On October 15, Madonna threw a pre-release party at New York City's Industria Superstudio having signed all the invitations with "Dita" her Sex
Sex was released on October 21, 1992, the day after Madonna's fifth studio album Erotica.[5] A comic book title Dita in The Chelsea Girl and a promotional single titled "Erotic", wrapped in packaging representing a condom wrapper, was included with the book.[9][10] "Erotic", a stripped-down arrangement of the song "Erotica", offered an alternate vocal take not used on the album version. Upon its release, the book was banned in India, Ireland, Japan and some Australian states.[47][48][49][50]
Given the controversy surrounding the book there was no need for Madonna to promote it.[30] One of the few promotions she did, however, was to appear on the cover of the October edition of Vogue, dressed in "Hippie trip" fashion. These photographs were taken by Meisel.[51] On October 22, 1992, MTV aired a special called The Day in Madonna, hosted by Kurt Loder (a pun on the title of their daily show The Day in Rock). It profiled the release of Madonna's Sex and her album Erotica, even taking the book to the streets to allow people, including a sex therapist and a group of real-life New York City dominatrices, to view it. MTV also interviewed people who had looked at the book on the day of its release at the HMV music store in New York City. To celebrate its release, the store held a Madonna look-alike contest and set up a booth where people could view the book for one dollar a minute, with the proceeds going to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund AIDS research.[12]
Critical response
"I don't think sex is bad. I don't think nudity is bad. I don't think that being in touch with your sexuality and being able to talk about it is bad. I think the problem is that everybody's so uptight about it and have turned it into something bad when it isn't. If people could talk about it freely, we would have more people practicing safe sex, we wouldn't have people sexually abusing each other.
– Madonna discussing the backlash surrounding the book[9]
Critics,[52][53][54][55] conservative, feminist and anti-porn groups[1][56] reacted negatively to the book because of its sexually explicit photographs, which many characterized as hardcore pornography.[57] J. Randy Taraborrelli, in his biography of Madonna, wrote that much of the book appears surprising, not shocking.[58] He derided the concept as childish and impetuous. Though Madonna insisted she was trying to demystify sexuality altogether, he believed she just wanted to publish pornographic text and pictures and get away with it: "She was being a brat, not a revolutionary."[58] Author Lucy O'Brien declared the book a bold, harrowing exercise in frustration, and despite Madonna's attempt at invincibility, it appeared to be "a curious act of self-destruction".[59] Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone said "The overwhelming effect of the book is numbing". Describing the photographs as "derivative", he wrote that "Madonna herself seems far too eager to shock; that, not even prurient arousal, seems the ideal response the book tirelessly seeks. The potency of Sex's subject matter is dissipated by Madonna and Meisel's self-congratulatory – and silly – sense of their own 'bravery,' as if their naughty games were somehow revolutionary."[60]
Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said some passages from the book were "too dirty to quote ... even the funny ones".[11] The Daily Beast said "the book is neither groundbreaking (save that it features a major star) nor particularly sexy [...] Sex is convincing only when it's playful, as when she appears nude in a Miami pizzeria, chewing a slice while a baffled customer looks on. Elsewhere, she's simply undressed with no place to go."[20] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post, in a mixed review, wrote: "Is Sex shocking? Not really. Mostly because it's Madonna, and somehow we've come to expect this from her. Is Sex boring? Surprisingly, yes."[18] British author Zoë Heller of The Independent wrote that it was "the women who once saw Madonna as a witty feminist role model who have been most alarmist about her latest pornographic incarnation ... Previously, they say, Madonna played with traditional images of feminine sexuality in a subversive, 'empowering' way. But now, with sado-masochism and rape fantasies, she has gone too far."[33]
Madonna has overstayed her welcome. She's becoming the human equivalent of the Energizer Bunny, flashing us her breasts in every magazine that'll let her. [...] Her book Sex, is a rip-off. Because it's not about sex, it's more about a hatred of it. [...] The book is not erotic. It's all somehow, astonishingly, dead. As sexy as a body chart at the doctor's office. Because it's just as precise and soulless. [Sex] is a con job because instead of being flagrant pornography, it dresses itself up as Great Art. The text is pretentious and derives most, if not all, of its impact from the fact that it's Madonna talking, quite a lot... Any other model would sound no more or less coarse, just uninteresting.[43]
Commercial reception
Pre-release
With Sex, Madonna broke several worldwide records. The retail price of the book was $50 in the United States, or around $109 in 2023 dollars.[39][44][62] Across Europe, Sex was sold for £25 in the United Kingdom,[63] and for pta 7500 in Spain (an equivalent of $70 at the time or $152 in 2023).[39][64] The most expensive sales were found in Argentina with a retail price of $89, which is about $193 in 2023 dollars.[39][65]
The initial
Release
In the United States, Sex sold 150,000 copies on its release day,
In France, Madonna held the record for the highest first-month sales for a book in history, before being surpassed by
Worldwide, the book sold 700,000 units in its first day.
Reactions
By December 1992, Paul Craig from
Social impact and aftermath
The book, though widely panned by the press, is regarded as one of the factors that shaped the social reaction and criticism of Madonna during the early 1990s.
Continuing her provocative work, Madonna starred in the erotic thriller
The perfect iconic goddess of True Blue had all gone. In the same way that sixties beauties like Nico, Marianne Faithfull and Brigitte Bardot set about destroying their beauty after they were famous, the very thing they felt limited them, Madonna annihilated hers. Within a few short years she moved from teasing flirtation to desperate sexual display. It is ironic that after the triumph of Like a Prayer, she hits this bathos. Being a blond again set her off in the wrong direction. It was as if with the Sex book she showed the underside of the Hollywood dream.
In Sex [Madonna] of course, was saying exactly what she wanted, warts and all... Indeed, this idea that she was penning her own sexual narrative was perhaps the most shocking part of the whole enterprise. And while it was easy to critique Sex, it should be applauded for this balls-to-the-wall honesty.
—Priya Elan discussing the book.[102]
Madonna responded to the huge backlash with the song "Human Nature", from her next album Bedtime Stories (1994), with the lyrics "Did I say something wrong? Oops, I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex," while declaring "And I'm not sorry. It's human nature."[31] She later explained: "I wouldn't say I regret it. I've made mistakes and learned from them. Most people want to hear me say that I regret publishing my Sex book. I don't. The problem was releasing my Erotica album at the same time. I love that album and it got overlooked."[103] In 2003, Madonna said: "I'm not apologizing in any shape or form [...] I was interested in pushing buttons and being rebellious and being mischievous and trying to bend the rules. There was a lot of irony in the Sex book and I am poking fun at a lot of things and I am being kind of silly and adolescent and I am being very f you, if a man can do it, I can do it."[104]
In 2002, Naomi Campbell said she had "a lot of respect for Madonna being bold enough to come out and do a book on sex. I've never reneged on that."[105] In 2009, rapper Vanilla Ice confessed to being unhappy with the book once he saw it. "My friends were like, 'Dude, that's cool man', but I was like, 'I'm dating her, it's not cool to see your girlfriend with all these other people' [...] It kinda ruined the whole thing. I wonder what her kids think of that book? Here she is writing kids' books now but they're going to see it and go, 'Mommy, what were you thinking?'"[106] Another of the book's models, actress Isabella Rossellini, told Out that she regretted her participation: "I don't think the book worked, even though the photos were extraordinary, and some of them quite memorable. I think there was a little bit of a moralistic sort of 'I'll teach you how to be free!' – and that bothered the hell out of me."[107]
Later reviews of Sex have been more positive. The authors of The Porning of America: The Rise of Porn Culture, What It Means, and Where We Go from Here (2008) commented that "the book is particularly interesting in the way that, like many of Madonna's works, it portrays sex in terms of domination and power".[31] Jane Raphaely, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan (South Africa) praised Madonna's "liberated behavior in Sex [...] the fact that she takes all forms of pornography and systematically demystifies it by putting it under her control", in an article in 1996.[108] Brian McNair, author of Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratisation of Desire (2002) praised this period of Madonna's career, saying she had "porno elegance" and that "Sex is a cultural phenomenon of global proportions" which "established her iconic status and cultural influence".[29] Priya Elan of The Guardian, wrote: "That the Sex book came after a record-breaking album and tour felt like a shrink-wrapped curve ball. But Madge was expressing something unique." Elan felt the book was part of a "slower reveal that began with confessional tracks such as 'Oh Father' (from 1989's Like a Prayer) and continued with the many scenes of narcissism captured in In Bed With Madonna".[102]
Legacy
Several writers consider Sex a bold,
Taraborrelli commented in his book, Madonna: An Intimate Biography, that Madonna's friends knew the book and her behavior were a barrier to shield her from the world.[58] She was tired of the extreme scrutiny from the public and media which she had provoked.[58] Annoyed, Madonna fought back by creating the persona of a renegade, someone so outrageous as to defy explanation, someone found objectionable by most people. Taraborrelli said that in Madonna's view, "she had no other way of fighting back".[58]
According to some writers, Sex also helped Madonna make a name in the
"There's a lot of really narrow-minded people. If I can change the way 1/100th of them thinks, then I've accomplished something."
—Madonna[118]
Sex has also become an important book in the
In 2017, Matthew Jacobs from the HuffPost wrote that it was "an audacious thesis statement, calculated enough to piss people off but seemly enough to maintain artistic integrity. No one today would dare emulate it", calling it "the most radical career move a pop star has ever made".[123]
30th anniversary Art Basel exhibition and Christie's auction
From November 29 to December 4, 2022, Madonna partnered with
On May 10, 2023, Christie's announced a collaborative auction on October 6, 2023 with Madonna and Steven Meisel titled Madonna x Meisel - the SEX photographs. The auction will feature over 40 photographs that will go on sale, with proceeds going to Madonna's charity Raising Malawi. Darius Himes, Christie's Deputy Chairman describes the photos as sitting "at a moment in art history of the late 20th century that both summarizes a moment, playful and prescient, and hints at the future of public stardom driven by image-conscious figures. These images are nothing short of brilliant".[127]
In popular culture
Sex has also become an object of modern culture references. American
In 2008, People magazine ranked Madonna's look and attire at the Sex pre-release party as one of her 50 Looks We Can't Forget.[131] In April 2012, a nude picture of Madonna taken by Meisel was put up for sale. An outtake from the book, it features a naked Madonna sporting bleach-blonde hair and dark eye make-up; lying on a bed and partially covered by a sheet, she is smoking a cigarette.[132] An unnamed collector purchased it for almost US$24,000 ($31,852 in 2023 dollars[39]).[133] In 2015, Rolling Stone included the book on its list of 20 Great Moments in Rock Star Nudity. Author Keith Harris wrote that "no celebrity had ever commanded control over her own naked image so audaciously".[134]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Giselle, Benatar (November 6, 1992). "Sex & Money: Inside the making of Madonna's wildly successful erotic fantasy book". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ Taraborrelli 2008, p. 230
- ^ a b c d e f Taraborrelli 2008, p. 231
- ^ Kilian, Michael (October 7, 1992). "In Time For The Gift-giving Season: Madonna Gets Bookish About". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ Sun-Sentinel. pp. 1–2. Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ a b McMahon 2000, pp. 702–705
- ^ Stephen, Holden (April 20, 1992). "Madonna Makes a $60 Million Deal". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c O'Brien 2008, pp. 238–239
- ^ a b c d e f Cross 2007, p. 57
- ^ a b c d Kellner 1995, p. 280
- ^ a b c Roger, Catlin (October 21, 1992). "You Can Tell This Book By Its Cover". Hartford Courant. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Reckhenrich & Kupp 2011, p. 109
- ^ Malcolm, Jones (November 29, 1992). "Fabien Baron's Grand Designs". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Caryn, James (October 25, 1992). "The Empress Has No Clothes". The New York Times. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ "You Can Tell This Book By Its Cover". Hotel Chelsea. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
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- ^ a b c d e Isaak, Sharon; Jordan, Tina (September 25, 1992). "The Girl Can't Help It". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Taraborrelli 2008, p. 233
- ^ a b c Levine, Nick (August 15, 2008). "Madonna Milestones: 'Sex' book goes on sale". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Selling of Sex". The Daily Beast. November 1, 1992. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c Cross 2007, p. 58
- ^ "Publishers on File: Madonna". Facts on File, Inc. 23 (2). Publishers on File: 3, 27. September 20, 1992.
- ^ a b c Tyra, Braden (October 5, 1992). "'Sex' Book: It Is Merely An Investment". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Jocelyn, McClurg (October 18, 1992). "Area Booksellers Wonder If Customers Will Pay $50 For 'Sex' With". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ Fabien, Baron. "Fabien Baron Biography" (PDF). BernhardtDesignPress.com. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c O'Brien 2008, p. 240
- ^ a b c O'Brien 2008, p. 241
- ^ Gregory, Kirschling (October 25, 2002). "The Naked Launch". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ a b c d McNair 2002, p. 267
- ^ a b Tassoni 1993, p. 22
- ^ a b c d e Scott & Sarracino 2008, p. 96
- ^ Milmo, Dan (February 12, 2002). "Campbell defends nude Madonna book pictures". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Zoë, Heller (October 25, 1992). "Book Review / Kids, I tasted the honey: 'Sex' – Madonna". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
- ^ Priya, Elan (April 25, 2012). "Looking back at Madonna and Sex". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Guest, Katy (August 17, 2008). "Madonna at 50". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
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- The Advocate. October 2, 1992. Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "'Sex' Printer May Lose Church Trade". The Roanoke Times. October 30, 1992. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ Hart, Mary (October 14, 1992). "Will She Do It?". Entertainment Tonight.
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- ^ ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ a b c Michael, Kilian (October 7, 1992). "In Time For The Gift-giving Season: Madonna Gets Bookish About". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ Grazia, D'Annunzio (March 29, 2011). "Industria Anniversary". Vogue. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
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- ^ "Madonna's book "Sex' banned in Ireland". Racine Journal Times. November 22, 1992. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
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- ^ ISBN 1442676884– via Archive.org.
- ^ "Madonna Reinvented for the very last time". Vogue. February 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c Vicki, Goldberg (October 25, 1992). "Photography View; Madonna's Book: Sex, and Not Like a Virgin". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ Catlin, Roger (October 21, 1992). "You can tell this book by its cover Sex' is out a day after Madonna's new album". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ "Sex Book: It Is Merely An Investment". The Morning Call. November 5, 1992. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (October 21, 1992). "Books of The Times; Madonna Writes; Academics Explore Her Erotic Semiotics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ McDonald 2001, p. 35
- ^ Chapman 2010, p. 333
- ^ a b c d e Taraborrelli 2008, p. 232
- ^ O'Brien 2008, pp. 211–212
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- ISBN 978-1-872-03175-0. Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
Sex , a photo - album of sexual exploration , sold 100 , 000 copies at £25 a time in Britain today within 12 hours of its global launch
- ^ a b c Galán, Lolga (October 25, 1992). "'Sex' prohibitivo". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "Madonna S.A: Madonna en cifras" (in Spanish). Noticias. 1992. pp. 9, 34. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
La de los argentinos de alto poder adquisitivo ( cada ejemplar en edición española se vende a 89 dólares , en tanto la edición americana se vende a alrededor de 50 dólares ). Aquí el ejemplar cuesta $ 89 y alrededor de U $ S 50 en el resto del mundo
- ^ a b Landrum 1994, p. 273
- ^ "The naked truth: Madonna sells Singer's controversial book 'Sex' making a big hit in Austin". Austin American-Statesman. August 22, 1992. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
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- ^ "One of the most successful lanch seasons". Quill & Quire. 61. Canadian Magazine Publishers Association: 13. 1995. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
[...] Madonna's Sex , which became a huge bestseller in Canada after a careful review by Customs with its publisher's corporate parent , Time - Warner , resulted in the book's approval
- ProQuest 251893440– via ProQuest.
- ^ "MADONNA: SEX VENDE 100MILA COPIE IN UN GIORNO" (in Italian). Adnkronos. October 26, 1992. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "TALKING ABOUT SEX BY MADONNA". Creative Camera. Coo Press Limited. 1993. p. 40. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
She had it on good authority that her book , Sex , sold 80 , 000 in the first half an hour in London.
- ^ "Fear factor: Conspiracy theories go mainstream". The Globe and Mail. November 16, 2002. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ISBN 9789506396060. Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
El libro " Sex " de Madonna permanece en las librerías porteñas apenas cinco horas , tiempo en que se agotaron los primeros dos mil ejemplares
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References
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External links
- Steven Meisel, Madonna, Sex book at Achtung Photography [dead link]
- Miami Photographer Hit Paydirt With Topless Madonna Shots at Adweek
- full version (pdf) in the Open Source section of the Internet Archive