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The Sex book


Erlend
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1 hour ago, Adriabs said:

 

I don't think this step in her career represented a failure in any way. I mean, she was so forward-thinking and aware of the social and ideological landscape, so I'm sure she didn't expect this to be a success or to elevate her in any way at that time (even if she was a bit big-headed around that time, she certainly wasn't dumb at all). But I'm sure she KNEW that she HAD to do it, that she was the only one who had the balls and that it would mean a huge step in her career that would set standards, open the door, change minds, and make people think and react, even if that meant having people throw stones at her at the time.

Believe or not, the Erotica era (Sex book included) almost destroyed her career (not in Europe). That's why I've always seen in "Bedtime Stories" and in "Something to Remember" a way of saying "I'm sorry. Now I am good girl again. No more sex".

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1 hour ago, Aiwa08 said:

That's why I've always seen in "Bedtime Stories" and in "Something to Remember" a way of saying "I'm sorry. Now I am good girl again. No more sex".

I've always hated the fact that she always denies it was a step back. There's nothing wrong with redeeming yourself. An artist needs the public approval. She lives for the applause, applause, applause...

Oh, no! Wait :Madonna024:

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3 hours ago, Aiwa08 said:

Believe or not, the Erotica era (Sex book included) almost destroyed her career (not in Europe). That's why I've always seen in "Bedtime Stories" and in "Something to Remember" a way of saying "I'm sorry. Now I am good girl again. No more sex".

Yes, the critics was so hostile. This review, from The Girlie Show, gives a perfect example:

"There she stood, a vision of tawdriness: blond hair, black skirt, red bra over taut white flesh. She was that odd-lot remnant of the '80s, a Madonna wannabe. But most of the other fans at the Toronto SkyDome last week for the North American opening of the singer's Girlie Show tour were dressed in civvies. For them, the star was only something to stare at. She is not a role model, not after a decade in the spotlight. These days, does anyone wanna be Madonna?"

Richhard Corliss, Time magazine, october 25, 1993.

Metz. Benson: Schirmer Books. New York. The Madonna Companion. 1999.

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9 minutes ago, Erlend said:

Yes, the critics was so hostile. This review, from The Girlie Show, gives a perfect example:

"There she stood, a vision of tawdriness: blond hair, black skirt, red bra over taut white flesh. She was that odd-lot remnant of the '80s, a Madonna wannabe. But most of the other fans at the Toronto SkyDome last week for the North American opening of the singer's Girlie Show tour were dressed in civvies. For them, the star was only something to stare at. She is not a role model, not after a decade in the spotlight. These days, does anyone wanna be Madonna?"

Richhard Corliss, Time magazine, october 25, 1993.

Metz. Benson: Schirmer Books. New York. The Madonna Companion. 1999.

Richard who?

Who Is This Hello GIF by Originals

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2 hours ago, artlover said:

I've always hated the fact that she always denies it was a step back. There's nothing wrong with redeeming yourself. An artist needs the public approval. She lives for the applause, applause, applause...

Oh, no! Wait :Madonna024:

From Wikipedia: "Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994, by Maverick and Sire Records. In order to move into a more mainstream sound, Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, wanting to soften her image following the critical and commercial backlash she faced after releasing sexually explicit projects in the previous two years, notably the Erotica album and the Sex book. This image transformation was preceded by the ballad "I'll Remember" from the soundtrack to the 1994 film With Honors."

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4 hours ago, Aiwa08 said:

Believe or not, the Erotica era (Sex book included) almost destroyed her career (not in Europe). That's why I've always seen in "Bedtime Stories" and in "Something to Remember" a way of saying "I'm sorry. Now I am good girl again. No more sex".

That's what I'm finding out but, at the end of the day, I still think this was an essential part of crafting her legacy. I mean, I wouldn't understand Madonna without that stage of sexual revolution and provocation. Even if she had to change her direction (staying there for years would've been overkill anyway), she had already done it, she got away with it, took it as a huge part of her legacy and kept getting her success. She paid a cost to create a momentum and then she bounced back, that's our hero.

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2 hours ago, Adriabs said:

That's what I'm finding out but, at the end of the day, I still think this was an essential part of crafting her legacy. I mean, I wouldn't understand Madonna without that stage of sexual revolution and provocation. Even if she had to change her direction (staying there for years would've been overkill anyway), she had already done it, she got away with it, took it as a huge part of her legacy and kept getting her success. She paid a cost to create a momentum and then she bounced back, that's our hero.

And maybe she didn't wanted to be a " "conventional" popstar any longer? I mean, where do you go after one success after another?

True, she went more mainstream later on, but back in the early 90's it was all about EXPRESSING herself.

Edited by Erlend (see edit history)
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I think that photos were extremely racy and controversial, for sure there are a couple of boring pics, but i think they did it on purpose - to balance this a little bit and not concetrate on S&M only. I find book great. She was very brave to do that - to express a... dark sexuality? It's actually funny that she did it years ago in that format and right now nobody would do something similiar, because it would be banned in seconds. No risk, no fun. I am even more shooked that this didn't destroyed her carrer (it was hard for some time, but warming image with BS worked and at the end she made fun of all the haters with Human Nature - iconic).

She should re-release it in new version of her vagina in her 60s. I'm waiting.

Edited by Mateusz Klimecki (see edit history)
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On 1/23/2021 at 9:39 AM, Aiwa08 said:

I  love the "Erotica" era and in my opinion the "Sex" book is a piece of art... But as Madonna's fan it was the worst era. It was the beginning of the end. Suddenly people started to hate her with passion, even classic fans. News and TV called her "Whore". Radio stations barely played the Erotica singles. You couldn't talk about her because the reply was always an insult. It was like I was the only one who still loved her (I didn't have internet until 1994). Fortunately, "Ray of Light" was the second coming, and people started to love her again...

What happened when I'll Remember hit? Was her Letterman appearance another bash fest for the public?

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I was really young, living in NYC at the time. And to me, it was the biggest star in the world basically doing what was happening on public access tv after dark (MNN, Channel 35, Robin Byrd, Men4Men, 1-900 numbers etc) and in Manhattan s&m/ gay clubs and putting it in everyone's face, all around the world. In the middle of AIDS and presidents that didn't do anything about it and the religious right trying to shame people for it. The documentary on Robert Mapplethorpe solidified my feelings about the Sex Book. There is a lot of his influence there, I think. The Sex Book and Erotica were extra brave for the time and have held up very well. Body of Evidence is the only part of the trifecta that was tired then and now.

 

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On 1/22/2021 at 10:52 AM, NowRadiate said:

It was confusing to see her release the book at that time and I think most people didn’t understand what she was actually getting at. Was it porn? Was it erotic? Was it suitable for a female pop celebrity to release such a book? Why was she being exhibitionist? Why was she pushing buttons?

Years later, I still love the book and applaud her for being brave enough to hold up a mirror to society. 
It was an angry feminist act.
 

https://monoskop.org/images/7/75/Madonna_Sex.pdf

It really agitated me how she seems to be “shunned” by feminists or overlooked, when she herself was always an example of woman empowerment and I’m glad she shed a light on that with her “I’m a bad feminist” statement.

You can be a feminist AND be proud to express your sexuality as you see fit, because feminism is about a woman’s equality, rights and freedom of choice, and a woman’s decision to express her sexuality is her choice, and one to be respected.

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1 hour ago, RinoTheBouncer said:

It really agitated me how she seems to be “shunned” by feminists or overlooked, when she herself was always an example of woman empowerment and I’m glad she shed a light on that with her “I’m a bad feminist” statement.

You can be a feminist AND be proud to express your sexuality as you see fit, because feminism is about a woman’s equality, rights and freedom of choice, and a woman’s decision to express her sexuality is her choice, and one to be respected.

The feminists shunned her for apparently portraying herself as a sex object for men, which Madonna was definitely playing with. In fact, she stepped out of the position of being objectified and instead, made herself the active subject of sexual attraction, turning the tables, objectifying the audience who paid her the attention that a supposed exhibitionist asks for (who is the master who is the slave?). 
A lot of people do/did not understand that. 

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8 hours ago, deathproof said:

Really? But it was a massive hit

There was this 2-3 hour special on MTV in '96 or '97 where they showed all her videos with extra info and said the I'll Remember video was criticized for its similarity (but major inferiority) to Rain.

Edited by Jakey (see edit history)
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in Italy the situation was very heavy, at the time I was 16yo and it was a massacre: Journalists were waiting for nothing else, after years of wanting to stone her the time finally came to do it with SEX. It was very difficult at that time to be a Madonna fan, I did not understand her choice to publish a book of that kind, she was certainly brave for doing it and obviously her musical career was certainly not at an advantage with this book.

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I wasn't born in 1992 yet, so, sorry, no memories about it...But my mom was 20 at that time and she remember vividly all the controversies this book generated, especially in Europe. I tried to convince her to speak about it few times but she said only that in her opinion that book was a slight for the female universe, an insult to the beauty of the female body, that she could have expressed her intentions about sexuality with more respect, not debasing herself that way. I highly doubt she's ever seen those photographs or listened to the album and I have good reasons for thinking that my mother was led to have this opinion by press and the amount of awful criticisms the entire Erotica era received. As someone said, this project almost killed her career because lots of casual listeners, like my mother, were disgusted and scared by it and a good portion of them decided to stop listening her music and buying her songs: my mother has refused to buy anything else by her since 1992. The fracture was partially reset by Ray of Light, but her love hasn't been the same anymore. I have to admit that when I saw few frames of this book for the first time I was 20 and I was shocked and disgusted, I couldn't believe someone had the courage to speak about sex with so much liberty, exposing every side of it, every aspect, even the most violent ones, and being raised as catholic didn't help me at all, especially since I live in a small, conservative village, where nothing exists but the priest; even after almost 30 years this ironic book did its job marvelously and shocked another puritan member of the society: I was one of them before I met it and her. In some way, it changed my mind about this topic, showing me that there's nothing demonic in sex or sexuality, that love has no color, no label, no secrets, no limits, and, I know it can sound strange, pain and plasure are different faces of the same aspect, a modern and obscure version of the romantic Greek statement Eros and Thanatos, love and death.

In the end, what impressed me the most is that all the bad press this book received crafted a distorted projection of Madonna and her career: when I was a baby, journalists still continued to focus only on her sexual controversies, with no interest on her real messages: everything was reduced to her appeal and body, the inner sense of her performances was buried under tons of comments about her age (I remember she was almost 50 when I started to hear about her), her toned body, her family and so on.:cry:That's why I was skeptic about her at the beginning: foolishly I was led to believe she was the mother of all those trivial popstars I saw reluctantly on MTV, who were only a dancing body with zero meaningful ideas. They did a great job, yes. I really hope the following years will do justice to this part of her career, which is worth of every single second a person could spend to understand it.

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12 hours ago, Erlend said:

True. And then it was forgotten.

I personally love that song, but it was such a weird time. People had no time for Madonna. And then she went to the Letterman show...

actually it was the other way around, I'll Remember started getting massive airplay regardless of her shenanigans and at the time she went on Letterman the song was just released (only one week old or so) and was still gaining airplay and sales and then it hit its peak about 2 months after so it may even have helped in a weird way...the song remained on the recurrent charts for moths after that too last week on the charts was in Jan 1995 I believe

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11 hours ago, Ian said:

actually it was the other way around, I'll Remember started getting massive airplay regardless of her shenanigans and at the time she went on Letterman the song was just released (only one week old or so) and was still gaining airplay and sales and then it hit its peak about 2 months after so it may even have helped in a weird way...the song remained on the recurrent charts for moths after that too last week on the charts was in Jan 1995 I believe

This is correct.

What I meant to say was how unpopular Madonna was, despite the fact that the song was such a big hit. Maybe that was just how I felt it? But in the spring of 94 it was all about Janet and grunge and techno.

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  • 1 month later...

 

I don't know where I stand with the sex book tbh. Some might disagree with my statement below but I welcome constructive criticism!

 I believe she was acting out, rebelling, angry. In time, even she would hint that she went overboard to the point that it became distraction to her music, and people's perception of it, and her. She could have told us all day about how she didn't care what people thought, but I think she did. She has always been a narcissist (in a self absorbed way) but it was clearly out of control during this time.

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I was 10/11 at the time so didn’t really understand what she was doing but I do remember seeing and hearing more about the book and video in the newspapers even though I was far too young to see the book. I just remember watching the “Erotica” video and my mum walking in and saying “I don’t think you should be watching that...” I just knew she was being controversial and upsetting the general public with her antics. It was only years later that I realised the impact of that era on myself. Basically, she was saying be yourself, don’t be ashamed of who you are and not to care what other people think if you really believe in what you’re doing. The content of the book is almost irrelevant now, the simple act of creating it was the point I think.

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It came out of nowhere. That's all I remember. I remember watching the MTV VMA's that year and they dropped a tiny bit of a forthcoming video (or maybe it was during a MTV news segment) and it just looked incredibly dark and a bit scary. I was 13. But she'd done Justify My Love and Truth Or Dare was very edgy, so I didn't know what road she was going down, but I was excited.

At the same time, A League Of Their Own and Playground were MASSIVE and so to have such a clean-cut movie/song and then pivot to Erotica, seemed insane. 

I got SEX for Christmas that year. I remember my parents talking about it with me and they weren't sure that I should be able to keep it after they saw what was inside, but I fought hard and kept it.

A few months later (late Winter '93) I remember a Coles book store in the mall (I'm in Toronto, Canada) had stacks of French copies that no one wanted. Eww .. white English people don't want FRENCH? lol .. and they slashed the price and so I bought 3-4 copies for $29.99 and then kept them for years and then sold them for so much .. early flipping days, I guess.

My copy is in pristine condition. I almost never ever touch it for fear that the metal spine will break or get fucked up as so many of them did. I still have the mylar bags.

I think it was important for her to do it then. I have no regrets about it. Boring? Someone said they thought parts of it were boring. Sure. Depends maybe on who you were at the time and what you expected. I didn't know anything about those dark underworlds of gay culture back then, so it was exciting and educational and showed me options. And then when I found myself in my first scary hallway at a bathhouse/sex club/leather bar, I wasn't without expectation. I appreciate the education she provided a young gay kid .. when no one else would dare speak of such things or show such things. It's like she held my hand and said, "this is what you'll probably want to explore and so this is what it looks like. If you're not afraid then you're not doing it right." 

And then the world had a snit about the book and Madonna and feminism and they called her McDonna and openly slut shamed her for years and then she put out a ballad album and did Evita and moved on. You could blink and then it was 98 and she was sitting on a couch talking with Oprah about baby formula, so things were okay.

I would say that until Erotica/Sex/Body Of Evidence, being a Madonna fan was easy. After the trilogy of those releases, it became increasingly more difficult. You were required to defend your love for her. It was suddenly cool to NOT like Madonna. And for a 12-13-14 year old, that could be hard because it's a time in your life when you seek acceptance and as little gay boys we already felt so excluded. So in some ways, SEX made our lives both more interesting and harder - but I think the end result is that we came through it like she did and it's why we feel such a strong bond and expect so much from her. 

And maybe why so many of us regard EROTICA as her best work. 

When Ray Of Light came out, it was like True Blue days, the world was bowing at her feet for her brilliance and the music and imagery and how mature she'd become and a mother .. and I was like, "but you fuckers ... burned her at the stake! and now you're all goo-goo-ga-ga for her??!" 

And same with MUSIC .. and then American Life, and it was like, "here we go again!" :)

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I don’t really feel she was rebelling… just look at pop culture at the time. Cable TV was ushering in all sorts of erotic material. Cinemax was nicknamed Skinnimax because of it. HBO had Taxi Cab Confessions and Real Sex. Playboy Channel.  Drew Barrymore was seducing older men in Poison Ivy, Sharon Stone flashing her kitty in Basic Instinct. People basically went to see that movie JUST to see her vagina. I can see why Madonna was so blindsided by the backlash. Everybody else was allowed to be sexual BUT her. 
 

Madonna wasn't rebelling, she was just absorbing her surroundings as usual. 

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