The Most NSFW Pop Culture Moment in the Archives? Madonna’s Sex Book.

by Victoria Veloz, a second-year undergraduate student - September 30, 2025

Thirty-three years ago, popstar of international fame, Madonna, released her fifth studio album, Erotica. Alongside the album’s release, she published the highly controversial book, Sex. Written by Madonna with photographs by Vogue’s Steven Meisel, the polarizing book included a first-person narrative of a fictious dominatrix, photographs of scantily clad models, and a Pandora’s box of BDSM-esque sexuality. As a part of the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Sex and Gender, one of the coveted copies of the out-of-print Sex is housed in Special Collections & Archives.

Published by Warner Books, the coffee table book was sold in a metallic mylar bag, resembling a condom wrapper, with a close up of Madonna’s face pictured on the front. Original sale of Sex, included a special edition CD with the song, Erotic. Once removed from the mylar bag, the book features covers made of aluminum with a metal spiral binding. Such decisions were made in collaboration with the book’s art director, Fabien Baron.

Per the book’s title, it dives headfirst into the topic of sex. The first page includes a disclosure on the AIDS epidemic, “This book does not condone unsafe sex... safe sex saves lives.” By 1992, Madonna was no stranger to activism for the people affected during the AIDS epidemic. In an era where the sitting president hadn’t addressed the crisis and the many members of the public were fearful of even touching a queer person, Madonna advocated for awareness. She had lost friends, loved ones, and many members of her community to the virus, prompting her to make such frequent mentions of the virus, even once displaying a montage of their pictures during her 1986 tour to further their legacy and the conversation around AIDS.

Madonna writes from the perspective of the fictional character, Dita. Throughout the book, she uses Dita as a pseudonym to share experiences and opinions on various titillating topics. Most text in Sex takes the form of a poem or narrative essay. Another fictional character included is John, whom Dita exchanges letters with on some pages. Concluding the book, there are a series of pages reminiscent of a comic book titled “Dita in the Chelsea Girl”. Here, more fictious characters are pictured with Dita such as Bunny, Chiclet, Dex, Stella, and The Stranger. The inclusion of these make-believe characters was done to further Madonna’s goal of the book being a confessional of her sexual fantasies.

The impact of and quality of photography featured in Sex is notable. Madonna herself is the most pictured subject, wearing  sheer bodysuits, risqué leather garments, sequin covered outfits, and most often, nothing at all. Other models in the first half of the book can be seen wearing similar provocative attire, including collars, piercings, cuffs, and chains. Photos in this first half heavily feature elements of BDSM. Notably, the most controversial of these shots shows Madonna in rope bondage with a knife held to her crotch by a tattooed model. Around the halfway point, the kinky stylization meets black-tie elegance. Madonna graces a few photo spreads in a glittering gown reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour accompanied with two tuxedo clad men. The well-dressed trio is contrasted with groveling nude men in collars and on leashes. The S&M erotica subsides after these pages.

A handful pages contain photographs with some very recognizable figures. Famed high fashion model, Naomi Campbell cameos a few photos sandwiching Madonna with rapper, Big Daddy Kane. Rapper and boyfriend of Madonna at the time, Vanilla Ice, is photographed with Madonna in a couple of spreads, one of the few heterosexual pairs featured. Isabella Rossellini, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as the nun Sister Agnes in the 2024 film Conclave, was also featured in Sex. Ironically, the real-life Vatican condemned the book and called for followers to boycott it when it was first published.

Describing the release of Sex as scandalous would be an understatement. Madonna was met with extreme criticism for how graphic the book was. Many conservatives advocated for the removal of the book from shelves. Some countries heavily censored or outright banned the book. Most critics claimed the book was an untasteful attempt at being groundbreaking. Regardless of the negative response, Sex is now praised for its boldness to subvert heteronormative views of sex. Thirty-three years later, Sex by Madonna is heralded as an unapologetically disruptive showcase of diverse sexuality.

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