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Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness --- and Liberalism --- to the Women of America
Blowing the whistle on a job she herself did for over ten years at Ladies Home Journal as editor-in-chief, Blyth reveals the almost institutionalized selling of a liberal/do-gooders message to women through chararacterizing women themselves as victims. Playing on women's compassion and ability to be hooked into "uplifting" stories with a moral or happy ending, American media has convinced the most well-educated, rich and healthy audience in history that they are miserable. She dissects
--liberal celebrities' messages aren't scrutinized and in fact presented with a halo of approval
--middle class American women have been sold stress as the new scourge of modern life
--media paints a negative picture of women's lives today, at exactly the moment when women have more money, privlege and choices than ever before
--the club of liberal women who run magazines and television shows have an outsize and lock-step affect on what we "know" about the major issues of the day
--the incestuous relationship between celebrities and media has corrupted journalism
--magazines rarely tell stories about the majority of women whose conservative views don't mesh with their own
--liberal celebrities' messages aren't scrutinized and in fact presented with a halo of approval
--middle class American women have been sold stress as the new scourge of modern life
--media paints a negative picture of women's lives today, at exactly the moment when women have more money, privlege and choices than ever before
--the club of liberal women who run magazines and television shows have an outsize and lock-step affect on what we "know" about the major issues of the day
--the incestuous relationship between celebrities and media has corrupted journalism
--magazines rarely tell stories about the majority of women whose conservative views don't mesh with their own
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
8 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 28, 2009
According to Myrna Blyth, women’s magazines and media programming targeting women are selling women a whole lot of myths. Well, as the editor of Ladies’ Home Journal for 21 years, she would know. Here is a partial list of the myths Myrna identifies:
1. Women today are more stressed out and overburdened than ever (far more than the farmwives of 100 years ago with no electricity or indoor plumbing) and need to indulge themselves in all kinds of expensive ways in order to stay sane.
2. Every story has a clear victim and a clear villain. The victim bears absolutely no personal responsibility for their plight and should never be challenged during an interview.
3. Celebrities look as good in real life as they do in the photos, and you can try to as well. Though you have no access to their expensive personal trainers, make-up and wardrobe consultants, or sophisticated computerized photo air-brushing privileges, you can keep buying the magazine and hoping.
4. Women should look as sexually provocative as possible and behave in a highly forward way, but if they get more male attention than they bargained for, it’s the fault of Evil Men.
5. Narcissism is the new feminism. Just say no, because being a feminist today really means indulging others less and yourself more.
You probably knew a lot of this already, but Myrna gives it to you in detail and from an insider’s perspective. As an insider, Myrna dishes it out and is frequently snarky, which made the book fun at times but also made it hard to take seriously – there seemed to be a revenge agenda and it sometimes felt like reading a tabloid-like expose. She also lost me when the book became highly political.
Overall, though, reading this book was mostly enjoyable if a bit too long and made me happy I don’t have a television or read women’s magazines.
1. Women today are more stressed out and overburdened than ever (far more than the farmwives of 100 years ago with no electricity or indoor plumbing) and need to indulge themselves in all kinds of expensive ways in order to stay sane.
2. Every story has a clear victim and a clear villain. The victim bears absolutely no personal responsibility for their plight and should never be challenged during an interview.
3. Celebrities look as good in real life as they do in the photos, and you can try to as well. Though you have no access to their expensive personal trainers, make-up and wardrobe consultants, or sophisticated computerized photo air-brushing privileges, you can keep buying the magazine and hoping.
4. Women should look as sexually provocative as possible and behave in a highly forward way, but if they get more male attention than they bargained for, it’s the fault of Evil Men.
5. Narcissism is the new feminism. Just say no, because being a feminist today really means indulging others less and yourself more.
You probably knew a lot of this already, but Myrna gives it to you in detail and from an insider’s perspective. As an insider, Myrna dishes it out and is frequently snarky, which made the book fun at times but also made it hard to take seriously – there seemed to be a revenge agenda and it sometimes felt like reading a tabloid-like expose. She also lost me when the book became highly political.
Overall, though, reading this book was mostly enjoyable if a bit too long and made me happy I don’t have a television or read women’s magazines.
August 14, 2015
There's a sensible message here buried under a heap of convoluted, hypocritical, finger-pointing. The message that women should be wary of what the media is feeding them is a smart one, but Blyth is unfortunately the wrong author to tell it.[return][return]Let's start with Blyth's argument that the media's effect on women is a liberal-caused problem. Her only evidence to suggest this is that high-profile news anchors Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters are unabashed liberals. However, anyone with a walnut shell's worth of media knoweldge can cite Rupert Murdoch and FOX News as top media influences. Yet these conservative media giants share none of the blame in Blyth's world? This is a glaring omission that takes away much of the author's credibility.[return][return]The author gives us full disclosure that she was editor-in-chief of "Ladies Home Journal" and is the current editor of "More" magazine. She repents every other paragraph for her sins at LHJ, and constantly reassures us that her current gig at "More" is morally healthier. Besides feeling like chapters are constantly being interrupted by a commercial, I felt it rather hypocritical of Blyth to condemn rival magazines and celebrities for being harsh on women, and then follow up with scathing judgments such as calling Christina Aguilera "skanky." After paragraphs of condemning the Photoshopping of celebrities with cellulite, crooked teeth, and zits, she goes on to reveal that she changed an actress's appearance on a magazine cover, brushing it off with "Oh, that was necessary. She needed it" Hello? Can we stay consistent with our message?[return][return]This book alternates between frustrating and inspiring. While the author uses many anecdotes from her interactions with celebrities, readers have to wonder if Blyth, being a media persona herself, isn't part of the problem she's condemning. Can we trust her credibility and her anecdotes? On the one hand, women will immediately understand how diets, stress, and relationships are considered "women's topics" that are frequently twisted into scare tactics to boost ratings and profits, or to promote an agenda. Yet her constant insisting that liberals are blame makes Blyth seem like an outdated media maven, desperately clinging to the idea of party lines, ignoring that today's problems transcend a specific political ideology. If she approached the topic as a women's issue, rather than a conservative vs. liberal issue, her credibility would be much, much better. [return][return]For instance, the author often departs on tangents to detail how persecuted conservative females are by feminists (despite an earlier claim that feminists aren't the problem), and uses Phyllis Schlafly as an example. Blyth laments that Steinem and Friedan get all the glory while poor Schlafly gets snubbed by feminist society. Blyth smugly recalls how on lunch dates she regales her liberal friends the story of a brave, hardworking mother active in political life, and reveals to their shock that this paragon of sacrafice and womanhood is none other than Schlafly! Her "I sure told them!" anecdote fails to reveal her friends' rebuttal, and if they informed her that the reason Schlafly is not America's Sweetheart might have something to do with her vocal opinions on marital rape. (Schlafly has been documented saying that consenting to marriage is consenting to sex, and that a wife cannot, by definition, be raped.) Blyth's Conservatives Can Do No Wrong slant would be better suited for a writer who could drum up better examples of conservatives. Shlafly was just a misguided choice.[return][return]Besides the stubborn fixation on poor conservative role models, the books also sabotages itself by outdated media references, like the relationship of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Here, the magazine editor inside Blyth who insists on frequent name-dropping ultimately becomes the book's undoing and causes it to become obsolete. [return][return]I gave this book a try because I am interested in women's issues, and wanted to hear a conservative's take on the media's influence on women. But it became clearer and clearer as I read that the author's head-in-the-sand refusal to admit conservative blame tainted her message. Which is a shame, because as a media insider, she has a lot to offer the reader of the behind-the-scenes media doings. But she falls back on the old standbys: blame feminists, blame liberals, blame anyone but yourself, leaving her critique little new to offer readers. She failed in making this a conservative issue, but perhaps another, better author could have made a more convincing argument. It just seems that the issue is something all women should be aware of, not just conservatives.
August 3, 2015
Книга за женските списания и как те и "женските" ТВ предавания създават медиен климат, промотиращ ценности, чужди на мнозинството от обикновените жени, за да могат по-лесно да им продават рекламираните продукти и политики. Има много какво да се каже по въпроса за медиите, ориентирани към жени и за идейния и житейски климат, който те излъчват, но може би може да се каже по-добре, по-подробно и по-целенасочено, отколкото в настоящата книга. Не ме разбирайте погрешно - написаното е вярно и интересно, но ми се ще с въпроса да се беше захванал някой друг.
August 17, 2008
The author, a former women's magazine editor, admits that magazines and TV have a vested interest in keeping the American woman in a state of discontent. An unhappy woman is more likely to spend money to find a cure for her emotions. Well, duh.
February 21, 2008
Her take on liberalism and women in the media is scathing and entertaining althought at times she can be too caustic which takes away from the point she is trying to make.
April 16, 2016
A dated book, it was cited in something else I was reading and it perked my interest. Now over ten years old it is going to quite naturally be out of date in many of its contexts but nevertheless it is an interesting tale of New York media mavens albeit a very biased one. It is always good to read about successful women who have achieved professional and economic success through their hard work and these media mavens are not shy in pursuing their goals.
Myrna Blyth appears to have moved her political alliance from liberal democrat to conservative republican. This book could not have been written prior to her switch as she would have been one of the mavens that she criticises for creating an influence that she now believes was manipulative and often dangerous. This influence can be found in the portrayal of women as victims. In recent years the feminist trend has swerved from empowerment to victimhood. Women's magazines, considered by chauvinistic journalists as pulp non-fiction, present women as victims and sell stress. Women are portrayed as perpetually frazzled, frumpy, fearful or failing. And stress sells. We look for what fixes we can buy for our less than perfect lives.
Why are women portrayed as victims? Because, "liberals need victims and encourage groups, especially women and minorities, to feel victimised because it gives the their power base".
Does Blyths's argument convince me? Nah, not really! I think her observations are probably accurate (well, she swam with them for many years) and her insight might be pertinent to that small corner of the publishing world but the media is so all encompassing that the wider influence cannot be ignored. I think that there are a group of elitist, liberal, parochial and pampered media mavens doing whatever it is they need to do to keep their job and to sell magazines, and I do believe they have some influence over some women's beliefs BUT it's not something that I'd lose any sleep over.
Perhaps, I should mention here that I am not a big magazine reader but do subscribe to British Vogue.
Myrna Blyth appears to have moved her political alliance from liberal democrat to conservative republican. This book could not have been written prior to her switch as she would have been one of the mavens that she criticises for creating an influence that she now believes was manipulative and often dangerous. This influence can be found in the portrayal of women as victims. In recent years the feminist trend has swerved from empowerment to victimhood. Women's magazines, considered by chauvinistic journalists as pulp non-fiction, present women as victims and sell stress. Women are portrayed as perpetually frazzled, frumpy, fearful or failing. And stress sells. We look for what fixes we can buy for our less than perfect lives.
Why are women portrayed as victims? Because, "liberals need victims and encourage groups, especially women and minorities, to feel victimised because it gives the their power base".
Does Blyths's argument convince me? Nah, not really! I think her observations are probably accurate (well, she swam with them for many years) and her insight might be pertinent to that small corner of the publishing world but the media is so all encompassing that the wider influence cannot be ignored. I think that there are a group of elitist, liberal, parochial and pampered media mavens doing whatever it is they need to do to keep their job and to sell magazines, and I do believe they have some influence over some women's beliefs BUT it's not something that I'd lose any sleep over.
Perhaps, I should mention here that I am not a big magazine reader but do subscribe to British Vogue.
June 7, 2012
Someday someone will write a real exposé of women's magazines and how they kowtow to advertisers. But that person isn't Myrna Blyth.
Women's magazines, with but one exception, are loaded with articles on painful and/or expensive fashion and makeup. But that's due to advertisers, who use insecurity to sell everything from cosmetic surgery to clothes to lipstick. You see the same preying on insecurity with men although it takes a different form (e.g., buy this car or drink this beer; otherwise, the babes won't love you). So why is this liberalism's fault? In fact, remember that one exception? That's ad-free Ms. magazine. Now that's a magazine that really is liberal. So much so, that it's off Ms. Blyth's radar screen.
Ms. Blyth is far enough to the right that centrist magazines seem liberal. If women's magazines really were liberal, we'd be reading about single-payer health care, fully funding special education and ending homelessness in Elle, Jane and Ms. Blyth's own Ladies Home Journal. Instead, you read about $1,500 blouses in Vogue, $400 dresses in Elle and clothes that would cost my daughter a year's allowance in Seventeen. Is that due to liberal bias? If it were, Ann Coulter wouldn't be a walking advertisement for couture.
When you examine Ms. Blyth's evidence, it just doesn't hold up. Once again, it's the Fox News view of the world, where the center is seen as Bolshevism and liberals are blamed for anything someone sees as undesirable. I can't wait to read the tome on how liberals are causing all these hurricanes.
Women's magazines, with but one exception, are loaded with articles on painful and/or expensive fashion and makeup. But that's due to advertisers, who use insecurity to sell everything from cosmetic surgery to clothes to lipstick. You see the same preying on insecurity with men although it takes a different form (e.g., buy this car or drink this beer; otherwise, the babes won't love you). So why is this liberalism's fault? In fact, remember that one exception? That's ad-free Ms. magazine. Now that's a magazine that really is liberal. So much so, that it's off Ms. Blyth's radar screen.
Ms. Blyth is far enough to the right that centrist magazines seem liberal. If women's magazines really were liberal, we'd be reading about single-payer health care, fully funding special education and ending homelessness in Elle, Jane and Ms. Blyth's own Ladies Home Journal. Instead, you read about $1,500 blouses in Vogue, $400 dresses in Elle and clothes that would cost my daughter a year's allowance in Seventeen. Is that due to liberal bias? If it were, Ann Coulter wouldn't be a walking advertisement for couture.
When you examine Ms. Blyth's evidence, it just doesn't hold up. Once again, it's the Fox News view of the world, where the center is seen as Bolshevism and liberals are blamed for anything someone sees as undesirable. I can't wait to read the tome on how liberals are causing all these hurricanes.
May 22, 2012
I found this book to be really eye-opening and entertaining at the same time. Blyth gives us the insider's view of media and how it, basically, messes with our minds. One point that she made that really resonated with me is that, according to all the women's magazines and shows out there, we are all stressed out all the time. We think (if the stories filling women's magazines are any indication) we're too fat, too old, not pretty enough, over-worked, victims of huge amounts of abuse and discrimination, can't handle our children, etc. That life now is harder than it has ever been before. As she points out, this just isn't so! Look at all the world has to offer us that women could only dream of not too long ago. She makes the point that the feminist movement seems to have produced a culture of victims who allow the smallest things to completely stress them out. If anything, this kind of movement should have produced strong women. I love her emphasis--we are stronger than this! Don't let yourself be convinced that you aren't. A really good read--as long as you're a conservative woman, that is.
September 16, 2009
i'd give this 4 1/2 stars if i could; i really enjoyed reading it. it really helped me to change my mentality on how i live my life. i think i've had things together pretty well - i've made it this far, haven't i? - but i hadn't realized how much stress i was creating in my life.
this book helps you to see the importance of coming to conclusions on your own and not relying on the media to give you an unbiased report. it's amazing what happens in the media.
i have been recommending this to a lot of people because of how it has helped me. i partially attribute how well this second year of med school is going for me to reading this book when i did.
this book helps you to see the importance of coming to conclusions on your own and not relying on the media to give you an unbiased report. it's amazing what happens in the media.
i have been recommending this to a lot of people because of how it has helped me. i partially attribute how well this second year of med school is going for me to reading this book when i did.
January 1, 2010
Very enlightening! I would recommend this book to anyone who is a sucker for those glamour magazines. We should avoid anything that makes us feel less worthy is any way, and this book points out all the ways that the media tries to do that. And she used to be a editor-in-chief of one of those type of magazines, so she knows what she's talking about.
October 11, 2008
Myrna is a conservative and a republican. She is also past editor of Ladies Home Journal and subsequently MORE magazines. It's dully written, but the insider look into how women in the US have been convinced they are inadquate and live on fear was informative.
May 11, 2015
Even though I didn't agree with a few things in the book, most of it is basic common sense that's hard to argue against without sounding like a raging nonsensical idiot... But there's still something about it that I just couldn't LOVE. But it's definitely worth reading.
January 19, 2016
Very insightful, and easy to read with the humor laced throughout. Ten years past its original publication date, it is only now starting to feel a bit dated with some of the examples discussed. Definitely a good read to enlighten the mind or affirm your existing suspicions.
January 19, 2008
Insightful... interesting... It's hard to buy Glamour or Elle (or watch TV) after you read this book.
January 31, 2008
GREAT book! I learned a lot about how the media manipulates women. I am glad I read it. Not fabulously written, but such new ideas to me, with plenty of strong evidence.
August 11, 2011
Awesome! A very eye-opening read about the media and how it targets women. I could easily identify with her claims. Interesting and insightful.
October 29, 2011
great read from the view of an insider. i would definitely read this again.
June 26, 2020
I read this 15 years ago and barely remember it, so I'm going with my original reading list rating. I think I was even on the side of agreeing with the author, but god, what a boring lens.
February 24, 2011
I thought this was a good read.
February 25, 2015
Very eye opening. I learned a lot!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews