Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIsabella Rossellini agreed to appear in Madonna’s 1992 book Sex after setting one clear boundary: she would not pose nude. Years later, she said she had expected a deeper exploration of sex and found the book moralistic and emotionally guarded. Her criticism was pointed, but she also described Madonna as powerful and unique.
Why Rossellini agreed to take part
Rossellini recalled that she had often worked with photographer Steven Meisel, who was involved in Madonna’s project. She said Madonna conceived Sex, while Meisel saw it as a chance to show his artistry beyond fashion. When Madonna approached Rossellini, she said she would not pose nude, partly because she had faced criticism after Blue Velvet. Madonna accepted the condition, according to Rossellini. She said she appears dressed in both the book and Madonna’s “Erotica” video. The photographs include the two women embracing, including one in which Rossellini hides Madonna inside her coat. Rossellini recounted the arrangement in a 2024 interview with The New Yorker.
What she thought the book was missing
Rossellini said she expected Sex to offer a deeper analysis of sex. Instead, she felt its provocative images and depictions of Madonna as a sadomasochist and lesbian stayed at the surface. “I thought it was moralistic, because it points the finger a little bit, like, ‘I’m free, and you’re not,’” she said in the 2024 interview. She also recalled, “I expected it to be controversial. But it didn’t go very deep into the soul.”
Those comments describe Rossellini’s reaction, not a settled account of Madonna’s intent or of what every reader should take from the book. Her distinction was between sexual provocation and the deeper emotional examination she had anticipated.
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Her criticism was not a blanket rejection of Madonna
Rossellini’s reservations coexisted with admiration for Madonna. In remarks summarized by Out in 2016 from a Washington Blade interview, Rossellini called the book aesthetic, guarded, and not empowering, then added: “But she is an incredible lady.” She also spoke of wanting powerful older women as role models who confronted ageism. In the 2024 New Yorker interview, she described Madonna as powerful and unique.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the book framed its own provocation in 1992
A contemporaneous October 1992 Vanity Fair profile described Sex as featuring explicit sexual and homoerotic imagery, including Rossellini dressed as Mick Jagger while embracing Madonna. The profile quoted Madonna explaining her position: “I don’t think that sex is bad. I don’t think that nudity is bad.” She argued that openness could help people discuss safer sex and express boundaries.
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The same profile anticipated objections from parents and feminists. That captures one publication’s account and forecast at the time; it is not a measure of how the public as a whole responded. Rossellini’s later critique and Madonna’s stated defense can both be understood as responses to the book’s deliberately provocative presentation, but they emphasize different things: Madonna’s case for openness and Rossellini’s sense that the work did not reach the emotional depth she expected.
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- Format: Hardcover
- Language: English
- Number Of Pages: 320
- Release Date: Oct 30, 2018
- Weight: 5.1 lbs
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