The Marriage Myth (Pt 1): When Newsweek Struck Panic in Single Women Everywhere

It was a 1986 cover story with a claim that spread like wildfire: A single woman over 40 was “more likely to be killed by a terrorist” than to get married. Jess and Susie unravel the origin of that salacious report — later retracted — and dissect how such a line went from reporter’s notebook to reference point in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Plus: How that Newsweek story inspired Susan Faludi to write her blockbuster feminist classic, Backlash.

Guests:

• E. Jean Carroll, journalist, longtime Elle advice columnist and author of “WhatDo We Need Men For?”
• Susan Douglas, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan and author of “EnlightenedSexism”

FOR MORE:

• Single,Female, and Desperate No More (NY Times, 2006)
• RevisitingNewsweek’s ‘More Likely To Be Killed By a Terrorist’ Story (The Atlantic, 2016)
• Backlash:The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi (1991)

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