Madonna’s Sex Book Essay

?According to Gi stage Benatar ofEntertain manpowert Weekly, there ar two versions of how bloody shame came up with the idea for the bear. One was that she conceived the idea of an erotic picgraphy halt during the shooting of the filmA League of Their Ownin the summer of 1991. 1The second one is thatJudith Regan, vice-president andeditor-in-chiefofSimon & Schuster, flew toLos Angelesin March 1991 to meet with bloody shame and her managerFreddy DeMann, armed with a proposal for a similar collection of photo-erotica.1The utterer had initi whatso invariablyy verified whether Regan had approached any other celebrities with this concept, as bloody shame would be evoke to be a part of it only if it was a unique idea. 2By the end of the meeting bloody shame had agreed in principle to do a phonograph recording calledbloody shames Book of Erotica and depend uponual Fantasies. She told Regan that DeMann would call her and bat surface the details regarding the book. 34However, blood y shame neer got back in touch with Regan, who assumed that the singer did not indispensability to proceed with the idea.1bloody shames publicist Liz Rosenberg never confirmed nor denied Regans claim, that according to Benatar, bloody shame started working on fetch upbefore wrapping upA League of Their Own. 1At firstWarner Bros. Recordsand the executive directors atTime Warnerwere reluctant to allow bloody shame to publish such a book, but finally gave in to the idea. bloody shame, however, was forced to sign a contract that forbade her from showingchild crockgraphy,bestialityandreligious imagery. 1not long after signing this agreement bloody shame foundedMaverick, a multi-media entertainment community.Since by contract she had summate artistic control over any of the work tone endingd by Maverick, the agreement she signed with Time Warner concerning what not to do inSexbecame obsolete. 567 Some of the pictures for the project were shot atHotel Chelsea, bare-assed York. Oth er locations include Times Squares all-male burlesqueGaiety Theatre. Originally to be titledX, Madonna changed her mind whenSpike Lees filmMalcolm Xbegan to be promoted. (The film was released three weeks after the book. ) She would go on to tellVoguemagazine This is a really good symbol, and I thought of it first.8Warner Bros. commented thatSexwas very difficult to produce, requiring contributions from numerous different printing and publishing companies. 9They in like manner stated that in order to generate any profit, the book would stupefy to sell at least 350,000 copies. 1011Madonna hired top-notch talent for the development of the book12she counted on the help of friends from the music, film and fashion industry. 9The singer hiredFabien Baronas the art director,13fashion lensmanSt nevertheless Meisel, editorGlenn OBrien, make-up artist Francois Nars and hairstylist Paul Cavaco.1614TheSexbook had a range of influences from punk inclination to earlier fashion iconoclasts resemblingGuy Bourdinand his surrealism, andHelmut novelton, in its stylized, sado-masochistic look. 15Madonna originally wanted the book to be of an oval shape in order to sham acondombut the printing and manufacturing of such a book would accept been too expensive. Meisel would later comment Madonna and I can nutrition up with each other and that Im doing things to make pot figure too. Its not really to antagonize or to push lots buttons.Its really to present another way of seeing things. 1 The pictures were taken al more or less entirely inSuper 8format, and most of the photo shoots took place inNew York CityandMiami. Locations in New York City included theHotel Chelseaand Times Squares all-male burlesqueGaiety Theatre(dancers from arena participated in one of the books photo sessions), whereas in Miami the majority of the sessions were shot at a house Madonna had purchased save before startle the project, and in several beaches and streets.1516One morning during the fo ur- sidereal day Florida shoot Madonna was prancing around her 14-bedroom house in Miami completely naked, when someone jokingly suggested she go out on the street, then, according to Baron the next thing were in the street where allegedly cars screeched to a halt, motorists whistled, and one entranced cyclist fell mop up his bike. 1This was just one of the legion(predicate) crazy episodes that took place during the shooting of the book. According to Baron, during the photo shoots Madonnad do something crazy and then wed come up with something even crazier.One of the most shocking photographs made for the book, which have two women inpost-punkattire flanking Madonna with one of them holding a knife to Madonnas crotch, was dismissed as it was considered too violent. At some point, while the book was be produced, some of the photographs were stolen, but were quickly recovered by theFBI. 1According toNew Yorkmagazine, there were approximately 80,000photographs taken for the book,17b ut only a handful made the final cut. 1The printing of the book was extended for 15days11making the total production process last more or less eight months.18 Design and contentedit The picture shows the leather string worn by Madonna in theSexbook, as healthful as in the Erotica music video. Below the string, an image from the book can as well as be seen. Wrapped and sealed in apolythene terephthalate(PET) Mylar bag,192021Sexcontains 128pages and isspiral boundwith analuminiumcover that has the phrase Sex stamped in the middle1422and a warning label. 23The front page as well shows Madonna against a sky blue backdrop. 22Three different types of paper were used for the printing ofSexand the design was overseen by Madonna and Baron & Baron Inc.(consisting of Fabien Baron and the photographer Siung Fat Tjia) who had previously collaborated with the singer designing the cover art of her fifth studio album,Erotica. 1124As this was the first project for Maverick, the package was cr ucial however Madonna did not have faith in Warner Books mass-market publication process. Hence Baron suggested to transfer the packaging job to Nicholas Callaways bespoke Callaway Editions. 25Charles Melcher, co-publisher with Callaway for the book, utter that they usually did exquisite art books, $100 high end, beautiful things.But it was a challenge for them to process Madonnas ideas into reality. The artist wanted the packaging to be sealed, so that the shewer had to tear it up and read. 25They considered various kinds of clasps before zeroing on the idea of the sealed bag as a reference to a condom package. The metal cover was Madonnas idea, who took the inspiration from the 1979 album,Metal Boxbypost-punkbandPublic Image Ltd. 26Melcher recollects, 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 say, I want something like this. I was very impressed with the way she interacted with her world to source things. 26The company bought about 1,500,000 pounds (680,000kg) of aluminium, a pound for each book. The designers had to do the front and the back covers, while rolling, stamping and ionizing the metal. 26 The book opens up with the introduction Everything you are about to see and read is a fantasy, a dream, pretend. 27ThroughoutSex, Madonna offerspoems, stories, andessays.5She too uses thepseudonymMistress Dita as a homage to German actressDita Parlo her friends in these stories are Bunny, Dex, Stella, Chiclet and Stranger. 328According to biographerJ. Randy Taraborrelli, a big part of the book is read as a letter to apornographic magazine. 3As a thank you for recovering the stolen pictures during the making of the book, in the credits of the book Madonna mentioned the FBI for rescuing photographs that would have madeJ. Edgar Hooverroll over. 1429Madonna also wanted to research the notion of power inSex.Melcher said that the artist wanted to talk about gentle and tight, soft and violent inSex. 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. 25 Just like the textwhich was mostly written on top of photographsthe photographs on the book are highly sexual and depictnudity, simulations of sexual acts,bondage,homosexualityandanalingus, with accessories such as knives, whips, masks and chains5173031although fullintercourseis never shown.14 deflexion from unkat oncen models, featured in the book are actressIsabella Rossellini, rappersBig Daddy Kaneand Madonnas then boyfriendVanilla Ice,18modelNaomi Campbell,32gay porn starJoey Stefano,10actorUdo Kier, socialiteTatiana von Furstenberg, and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares however theheterosexualphotos in the book involve only Madonna and Vanilla Ice. 14Madonna herself is featured partially or completely naked. One of the books most famous photographs shows Madonnahitchhikingcompletely naked in Miami.3The book also reflects a great part on Ditas perspective towards her own sexuality. Dita writes inSexthat her pussy is a temple of learning33and that exposing it, is really a homage to it (Its hard to describe it smells like a baby to me fresh and full of life. I make do my pussy, it is the complete summation of my life). 34Sexcontains statements like ass loveis the most pleasurable way to get fucked and it hurts the most too. 3Others include there is something comforting about world tied up. Like when you were a baby and your niggle strapped you in the car seat.She wanted you to be safe. It was an act of love20and I wouldnt want a penis. It would be like having a third leg. it seems like a contraption that would get in the way. I think I have a dick in my brain. 2031InSex, Dita also pointed out that A lot of passel are afraid to say what they want. Thats why they dont get what they want. 35The book includes Madonnas perspective onpornography I dont see how a g uy feel at a naked misfire in a magazine is degrading to women. Everyone has their sexuality. Its how you treat people in everyday life that counts, not what turns you on in your fantasy.If all a person ever did was get off on porno movies I would say they are probably dysfunctional sexually, but I dont think its unhealthy to be interested in that or get off on that. Im not interested in porno movies because everybody is ugly and faking it and its just silly. They make me laugh, they dont turn me on. A movie likeIn the Realm of the Sensesturns me on because its real. Ive been told there are some goodTraci Lordsmovies but Ive never seen them. I wouldnt want to watch asnuff movie. I wouldnt want to watch anyone get really hurt, male or female. But generally I dont think pornography degrades women.The women who are doing it want to do it. No one is holding a gun to their head. I dont get that whole thing. I love looking atPlayboymagazine because women look great naked. 20 Release and promotionedit RapperVanilla Ice(left) and modelNaomi Campbell(right) are among the celebrities that appeared in the book. Both appeared in stated images along side Madonna. The initial pre affect of the book was met with a huge amount of controversy, as it showed a nude Madonna wearing a lapins tail, shaving thepubic hairof a naked man, and cavorting outdoors with a dog, suggestingbestiality.817The Vaticanurged its people to boycott the release, saying that it was morally intolerable. 36Indian springer appointeds said that the book offended the countrys public morality. ThePress Trust of India(PTI), Indias domestic news agency, quoted a top customs official as saying the book would be seized under a section of the Customs Act prohibiting entry of indecent literature. 37Citizens ofAlexandria, Virginiafiled a complaint with the citys police department on behalf of a group called the Rapides Parish Chapter of American Family Association, claiming that it violated Louisianas anti-ob scenity laws.38South US Baptists did not want their Bibles coming off the same printing presses as MadonnasSexand threatened to stop doing business with a Chicago printer. The Nashville-based Baptist Sunday School Board, a surgical incision of the Southern Baptist Convention, reviewed their $2. 1million ($3,529,215 in 2014 dollars39) printing contract with R. R. Donnelley & Sons. Board President James Draper said he was infuriated that Donnelley also printed such an prurient book.40Entertainment Tonightreported that Madonna herself had initiated the mayhem with the explicit content in the music video for Erotica, walking bare breasted at designer Jean Paul Gaultiers fashion show and posing nude inVanity Fairmagazine. 41A writer forThe Sacramento Beesaid that since the press wanted controversy, Madonna was willing to provide them fodder with her antiques. 42 Madonna then said she was doing this to liberate America free us all of our hang-ups5she also revealed in a letter that This book doesnt tolerate risky sexual practices.3Nicholas Callaway fromCallaway Arts & Entertainmentsaid that the book was inevitably breathing out to be controversial. The book explores every aspect of sexual fantasy. Its hard to calculate the effect, but,Sexshould be considered art. 43Originally it was rumored thatTime Warnerwas nervous about the release of the book however, in an interview withVanity Fair, William Sarnoff, president of Warner Books, said he felt that Madonna should pursue all avenues of creativity as she defines it.The Warner company had also previously assured that they would make sureSexreached its maintarget audienceand also reminded that the book was safely wrapped in a Mylar bag to prevent in- lay in peeping and contained a warning label. 5Michael Kilianof theChicago Tribunepublished an article on October 7, 1992, regarding the then upcoming release ofSex Prepare thyself, , The mega-event of the millennium is to occur in precisely two weeks. Its an event far more mega than the November election, the collapse of communism or even the crowning ofLeanza Cornettas the newMiss America. Kilian also described it as the in the flesh(predicate) sexual fantasy picture book in all Christendom, then it goes far beyond all previous truly twisted personal sexual fantasy picture booksperhaps beyond all imagining what such a book could be. 43 On October 15, Madonna threw a pre-release party at New York Citys Industria Superstudio, and signed all the invitations under herSexalter egoDita. 4445During the party, Madonna showed up dressed asLittle Bo chirrupand even carried with her a stuffed toy lamb.29Madonnas publicist Liz Rosenberg showed concern at first due to what the parents of Americas impressionable teens will concisely be thinking but later said that it all depends on your idea of lovemaking, which in Madonnas case, should give new meaning to the word erotic. 5BothWaldenbooksandBarnes & Nobleprepared corporate statements that the managers cou ld share with customers who are offended bySex. (Both statements defended the right of bookstores to provide diversity and choice to customers and say censoring is not the role of bookstores.)23Many book stores, too, stated that the book would not be sold to anyone under 18 and that it would be for display only bottomland the cash register. 523Bookstore owner David Epstein stated that The feeling of most people who have ordered the book is that Madonna is something special, that this is cutting-edge art, , theyre not the kind of people who are buying it because its smut and dirty pictures. People are interested in it as art. 23 Sexwas finally released on October 21, 1992, by editorials Callaway andWarner Books14434647it was also the first work released by Madonnas company Maverick.15To accompany its release, acomic bookas well as a promotional single containing a stripped-down version of Erotica, titled Erotic, were made available. The book was released by Madonna as alongside he r fifth studio albumErotica, which had been released a day earlier. 5With an initial print run of one million copies of the first edition in five continents and in five languages,47the set of the book was $50 ($84 in 2014 dollars39) at retail, making sex an expensive visual book. 4346Nevertheless, the book managed to break records regarding the number of copies pre-ordered before the release.Nicholas Callaway pointed out that the book was an unprecedented hit, because the print run of an average art book ranges between 5 and 10,000units. 11He described it as the largest initial release of any illustrated book in publishing history. 1011 Due to the high scandal and controversy surrounding the book, there wasnt really any need for Madonna to promote it30however, one of the few promotions for the book Madonna did, was appearing on the cover of the October edition ofVogue, where she appeared dressed in Hippie trip fashion.These photographs were taken by Meisel. 48After the book was rel eased, on October 22, 1992,MTVaired a special calledThe Day in Madonna, hosted byKurt Loder(the title of this special was a pun of the title of the heads daily showThe Day in Rock), which profiled the release of MadonnasSexand her albumErotica, even taking the book to the streets to allow people, including a sex therapist and group of real-life New York Citydominatrices, to view it. MTV also interviewed many another(prenominal) 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 one dollar a minute, with all of the proceeds going to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund AIDS research. 9 slender and commercial receptionedit I dont think sex is bad. I dont think nudity is bad. I dont think that being in touch with your sexuality and be able to talk about it is bad.I think the problem is that everyone is so uptight about it and have turned it into a bad thing when its not, if people could speak freely, we would have more people practicing safe sex, we wouldnt have people being sexually abused. Madonna discussing the forbid backlash surrounding the book. 12 The book received negative reaction from critics,47495051conservative andfeministanti-porn groups,152due to its sexually explicit photographs which many characterized as hardcore pornography. 53Taraborrelli opined that much of the book appears surprising and not shocking.54He derided the whole concept as childish and impetuous rather than an grown book. According to him, though Madonna insisted that she was trying to demystify sexuality altogether, the author believed she just wanted to publish pornographic text and pictures and get away with it. She was being a brat, not a revolutionary, the author concluded. 54AuthorLucy OBriendeclared that the book was a bold, harrowing exercise in frustration , and despite Madonnas attempt at invincibility, the book appeared as a curious act of self-destruction.55The overwhelming effect of the book is numbing, complainedRolling Stone. The images are derivative, and Madonna herself seems far too eager to shock that, not even prurient arousal, seems the ideal response the book tirelessly seeks. The potency ofSexs checkmate matter is dissipated by Madonna and Meisels self-congratulatory and silly sense of their own bravery, as if their naughty games were somehow revolutionary. 56 Roger Catlin from theHartford Courantsaid that the passages from the book were too dirty to quote here, even the funny ones.8The Daily Beastsaid that the book is neither groundbreaking (save that it features a major star) nor particularly sexy Sexis convincing only when its playful, as when she appears nude in a Miami pizzeria, chewing a slice while a baffled customer looks on. Elsewhere, shes simply undressed with no place to go. 19Richard Harrington fromThe W ashington Postgave the book a mixed review by saying IsSexshocking? not really. Mostly because its Madonna, and somehow weve come to expect this from her. IsSexboring? actually, yes.18During her review of the book, British authorZoe HellerfromThe Independentwrote 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 and that previously, they say, Madonna played with handed-down images of feminine sexuality in a subversive, empowering way. But promptly, with sado-masochism and rape fantasies, she has gone too far. 34Calvin Tomkins, author andart criticforThe New Yorker, wrote that unfortunately, the book is going to be mistaken forpornography.57In his review,Ed Anger, columnist forWeekly World Newssaid that Madonna may be the best singer in the world today, but she has no right to take off her clothes in her book. 58Vanity Fairdeemed it the dirtiest coffee berry table book to ever be publishe d. 12Caryn James fromThe New York Timeswas negative in her review stating that There is plenty here to offend the meek (whips and chains), the self-righteous (gay men and lesbians), not to mention the tasteful (a tacky and cluttered art design).14Vicki Goldbergfrom the same newspaper was also dismissive of the photography of the book saying that Unfortunately, not many of the images are very good photographically. Many are just pictures, or just porn. 47 Despite all the controversy and negative backlash, which included the book being banned in Japan shortly after its release,59Sexproved to be a commercial success, selling 150,000copies on its release day in the United States alone. 60Hundreds of copies of the book were pre-ordered, prompting book sellers to say thatSexwas shattering their gross revenue records for advance purchases.61A week later, the books sales exceeded the 500,000units1and eventually toppedThe New York TimesBest Seller list. 18Giselle Benatar wrote in her article Sex & Money This isnt the publishing event of the year, its the publishing event of the century. 1A day earlier, Tyra Braden fromThe Morning Callwrote that she and some friends concluded that the book might become a collectors item a few historic period down the road. 22In just three days, the book had managed to sell more than 1. 5million copies worldwide. 1 Social impact and aftermathedit.Madonnas performances inThe Girlie memorialize World Tourfaced negative reactions from conservative groups who deemed the singer immoral. Dubbed at the time The Queen of obscene,62Madonna and theSexera is considered by many as the artists most controversial and transgressive period. 6364The book, widely panned by the press, is regarded as one of the factors that shaped the social reaction and critique towards Madonna during the earlyish 1990s. 31Her fifth studio albumEroticawas affected by the negative press surrounding the book.65In March 1993Spinmagazine wrote an article praising the book,6 6but months later inMexico,social communicologistNino Canun presented atelevision specialcalled? Y Usted que Opina? (en And whats your opinion? ), where the audience, among them apriest, presented their arguments as to why this morally clueless singer shouldnt perform in the country, making reference to the then upcomingGirlie Show World Tourwhich was set to visit Mexico. Later, during her concert in Mexico, Madonna wore acharrosombreroand simulated anorgywith her dancers onstage, as a response to these comments.67Continuing her provocative imagery, Madonna starred in the erotic thrillerBody of Evidence, which featured the singer fully nude and in scenes engaged in simulated sexual acts. 68In March 1994,Madonna appeared as a gueston theLate Show with David Letterman, using profanity that was required to be censored on television and handing Letterman a pair of her underwear and asking him to smell it. 69The releases of her sexually explicit film, album and book, and the aggressive a ppearance on Letterman all made critics regard Madonna as a sexual renegade.She faced strong negative publicity from critics and fans, who commented that she had gone too far and that her career was over. 70Later on the song Human Nature from her sixth studio albumBedtime Stories(1994), Madonna turn to the public backlash the book was still receiving, particularly with the lines Did I say something wrong? Oops, I didnt know I couldnt talk about sex. I must have been crazy, as well as the line What was I thinking? . 31 The perfect iconic goddess ofTrue Bluehad all gone.In the same way that sixties beauties likeNico,Marianne FaithfullandBrigitte Bardotset 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 ofLike a Prayer, she hits this bathos. cosmos a blond again set her off in the wrong dire ction. It was as if with theSexbook she showed the underside of the Hollywood dream Lucy OBrien,Madonna Like an Icon, page. 25471 Madonna herself would later say I wouldnt say I regret it.Ive made mistakes and learned from them. Most people want to hear me say that I regret publishing mySexbook. I dont. What was the problem was releasing myEroticaalbum at the same time. I love that album and it got overlooked. 7273However, author Andy Koopmans in his bookMadonna(2002) would comment that the singer regretted both publishingSexand recordingEroticaand that the book had affected everything she did later. 74It was not until 2003 that Madonna would once again declare that she regretted nothing Im not apologising 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 theSexbook 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. 75A year earlier on 2002, Naomi Campbell confessed to have a lot of respect for Madonna being bold enough to come out and do a book on sex. Ive never reneged on that. 76However in 2009, rapper Vanilla Ice, who was Madonnas boyfriend at the time of the books creation, confessed to not being blissful with the book once he saw it.My friends were like, Dude, thats chill man, but I was like, Im dating her, its 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 theyre going to see it and go, Mommy, what were you thinking? 77Another of the books models, actress Isabella Rossellini, toldOutmagazine that she regretted her participation on the book I dont 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 categorization of Ill teach you how t o be free and that bothered the hell out of me. 78 Later reviews towardsSexhave become more positive. The authors ofThe lampblacking of AmericaThe Rise of Porn Culture, What It Means, and Where We Go from Here(2008) have commented that the book is particularly interesting in the way that, like many of Madonnas works, it portrays sex in footing of domination and power,31whereas Jane Raphaely, editor-in-chief ofCosmopolitanpraised Madonnas liberated behavior onSex the fact that she takes all forms of pornography and systematically demystifies it by putt it under her control, in an article in 1996. 79Brian McNair, author ofStriptease Culture Sex, Media and the Democratisation of Desire(2012) praised this period of Madonnas career, saying that she had porno elegance and that Sexis the author of a cultural phenomenon of global proportions due to the critics and thanks to this Madonna established her iconic status and cultural influence. 28 LegacyeditSexis now considered a bold,post-fe minist, work of art,648081besides being labeled a cultural book. Martin AmisfromThe Observerwrote an essay discussing the books cultural meaning. 28Critical theoristDouglas Kellneraffirmed that withSexMadonna became herself, an artifact of go forth culture. 82French academic writerGeorges Claude Guilbert(author of three books about Madonna) describedSexas one of the most successful publicity stunts in history83whereas Russell W. Belk, author ofHandbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketingmentioned that the book is aqualityproduct inmarketing.84In 1992, Madonna had generated more than US$500million ($840,289,305 in 2014 dollars39) to Time Warner in sales of both albums and theSexbook, despite the negative feedback. 85However, Taraborrelli commented in his book,Madonna An Intimate Biography, that those who knew Madonna well at that time, knew what was really going on with her theSexbookand the outrageous antics that preceded it and would follow itwas really just something she used as a barrier between her and the rest of the world. 54For years it had seemed to Madonna that both her personal and professional life was extremely scrutinized by the public andmedia, and although she had started this scrutinizing by her provocative works, she was devolve of it. 54Being vexed at this interest in her personal life, Madonna fought back by creating the persona of a renegade, something so outrageous as to turn away explanation, something found objectionable by most people.Taraborrelli said that in Madonnas view, she had no other way of fighting back. 54The Boston macrocosms Matthew Gilbert analyzed the singers provocative attempt in an article published in the newspaper Madonnas motive for baring her breasts to the public feels more like personal gratification, less like commitment to a cause.Shes not out to change the world. Lets face it Few people get erotic in front of millions of viewers for purely selfless political reasons. Its hard to escape the view of Madonna as a difficult Catholic adolescent aiming the finger at everything repressive. And many of her songs are addressed to an authority figure of her youth from perfection and Jesus Christ to her own father. The heart of Madonnas outrageousness seems to lie beneath her liberal rationales, as if shes acting out something tete-a-tete and the world is her couch, not to mention her bank. Her politics are largely Electral.86 According to some writers,Sexalso helped Madonna make a name in theporn industry,62and earned her the title ofS&Ms firstcultural ambassador87and was praised for recreating porn-chic. 88Humberto Quiroga Lavie pointed out that it was the fact thatSexwas considered pornographic that helped it become abestseller. 89Steve Bachmann, on his bookSimulating Sex Aesthetic Representations of Erotic Activitypointed out that perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Madonnas sexual phenomenon is the extent to which her book marked a new threshold in the pornographic f ranchise.90McNair wrote in his book that Sexbrought out the personal underground to the surface of pop culture. 28London art criticSarah Kentwrote inTime Outmagazine that the timing ofSexwas impeccable. 15Obsessions about the human body was in vogue, with Madonnas book as well as artistAndres Serranos cumming shots andJeff KoonsThe Jeff Koons Handbook, the latter portrayed fairytale pictures of the artist having sex with his pornographic actor wife,Cicciolina. 15 Sexhas also become an important book in theLGBTcommunity.Ben Shapiro, author ofPorn Generation How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Futurewrote that due to its iconic status Sexadorns the coffee tables of hundreds of gay men andsperm banks. 91Mark Blankenship, from the LGBT-oriented website New Now Next stated that literature changed forever with the publishing ofSex. 92Madonnas portrayal oflesbianlove scenes in the book sparked debates about her own sexual preferences. 93This was an adjunct to the singers public relatio nship with comedienneSandra Bernhard, with whom she cavorted around, visiting lesbian night-clubs as well as partying. The LGBT communit