Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness and Liberalism to the Women of America.

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: By Myrna Blyth - Book Review

SPIN SISTERS: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness and Liberalism to the Women of America

BY MYRNA BLYTH ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, NEW YORK 2004, 342 PAGES, $24.95

"Spin Sisters," members of the female media elite, function as a girls' club of like-minded editors, producers, and print and TV journalists who influence the way millions of American women think and feel about their lives, their world, and themselves. This sorority expertly targets women with stories about their difficult, stress-filled lives and treacherous, stress-filled world--ominous, anxiety-producing messages bombarding women on all fronts.

The author admits that, as a one-time member of the club, she, too, created negative messages of victimization and unhappiness. As editor-in-chief of Ladies' Home Journal for more than 20 years and founding editor of More magazine, Myrna Blyth promoted the "Female Fear Factor" by producing frightening coverlines in several issues. However, after spending months analyzing the power that Spin Sisters hold over women, she realized that the influence was manipulative and often damaging. Women's magazines, morning TV, the networks' nightly newsmagazines, and a number of the movies and programs on cable--many women watch TV almost five hours a day---constantly include tales of miserable, victimized women. Blyth could not fathom why they would accept such a distorted version of life; yet, the best-educated, healthiest, wealthiest, longest-lived women with unprecedented opportunities for personal fulfillment absolutely were enthralled with such pap.

In analyzing every issue of the nine foremost women's magazines published in a three-year period (Jan. 2000-Dec. 2002), the author found 425 articles about weight loss and body problems. She observed dozens of focus groups and initiated countless surveys to learn more about women's attitudes. Blyth recognized the need for a book exposing the way the constant negative images of females in magazines and on TV affect the way...