Madonna reflects on being vilified for openness about her sexuality after release of iconic Sex book

Madonna opened up about the “narrow minded” criticism she faced as she paved the way for others to embrace their sexuality thanks to her Sex book.

The pop superstar and long-time LGBTQ+ advocate shared her thoughts about the backlash she faced after the release of the risqué coffee table book in 1992 on Instagram stories on Saturday (22 October). 

She discussed how Sex, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, paved the way for other artists to share their sexuality in an honest way. 

“30 years ago, I published a book called Sex,” she wrote, “In addition to photos of me naked there were photos of Men kissing Men, Woman kissing Woman and Me kissing everyone.”

The “Vogue” singer continued: “I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way.

“I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a woman. I was called a w***e, a witch, a heretic and the devil.

“Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked a**, and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball.”

She finished the post by adding: “You’re welcome b****es.”

madonna gently setting the record straight for the kids who think she just makes silly tiktoks pic.twitter.com/dzu3lsYf5z

— matt (@mattxiv) October 22, 2022

Madonna then shared an interview clip with 60 Minutes Australia from 1992 in which she was paired up with an interviewer who was incredibly uncomfortable with the release of the Sex book.

When questioned about if there was a message in the book, Madonna asked the interviewer, “What did you get out of it?”

The interviewer admitted that he was “afraid” as he’d “never seen the likes of it” before. 

“You have so,” she responded. “You’ve never read Playboy magazine or Penthouse or anything like that?”

“Yes, but it was different with you,” the interviewer said. “The picture of you astride the mirror, masturbating — I thought that was horrible. It just strikes me as horrible.”

But Madonna was having absolutely none of it. She questioned why it was so “frightening” for women to feel empowered and to be unapologetic in expressing their sexuality.

“I think people’s reaction to specific situations in the book was much more a reflection of that person than me,” she said. 

“Are you frightened of a woman who can turn herself on? Are you frightened of a woman who is not afraid to look at her genitals in the mirror?”

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