Spin Sisters

SPIN SISTERS: HOW THE WOMEN OF THE MEDIA SELL UNHAPPINESS–AND LIBERALISM–TO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA: Myrna Blyth: St. Martin’s Press: NonFiction: 342 pages

Just like most women in America, I stand in the check out line waiting to purchase my groceries and take a look at the magazines lined up neatly beside me. They promise to tell me how I can lose extra pounds, rid myself of wrinkles, reduce my risk of cancer and osteoporosis, and lower my stress level through a combination of yoga, deep breathing, Pilates, and feng shui decorating. My problems all solved, and for only the cost of a magazine or two. Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth, editor-in-chief of Ladies’ Home Journal for over 20 years, is a journey behind the scenes of these headlines and the many other messages sent to American Women by the media.

Blyth’s book is filled with statistics and illustrations on how messages to women have evolved over the past 50 years. She dissects these messages and the motivations that drive their prevalence. Selling fear and dissatisfaction is a lucrative business, Blyth reports. Unhappy people are eagerly looking for easy fixes for whatever may ail them, and producers and editors work hard to convince consumers of their dissatisfaction with life, whether or not it is actually justified.

If you are looking for a window into the world of modern American media, here is a great primer. The stories and examples presented are entertaining and enlightening. Blyth’s voice, while at times cynical and critical toward female media moguls, remains candid as she honestly admits she also presented these misguiding messages through her career in order to improve readership. Spin Sisters illuminates issues and trends which, while not groundbreaking or necessarily shocking, can give us a more realistic and informed vantage point when facing the bombardment of propaganda aimed at us daily.

CZ