Martha Stewart: The Goddess of Greed

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Everywhere you look, there she is. Martha Stewart has invaded every avenue of domesticity. Her "radiant presence... seems to be infinite, like that of the Almighty, or of Starbucks" (Lippert & Ferguson: 26*) The outposts of her "omnimedia empire" are quite fortified (Africannet page). Reigning over a vast technical spectrum, her multi-million, multi-media kingdom includes a magazine with a circulation of 1.2 million, a syndicated column, and a TV show with audience of 5.3 million, but she does not have an official web site (Lippert & Ferguson: 26). There are numerous webpages that fans and foes have dedicated to her.

Martha Stewart is energizing the homemaking marketplace. The home is a key part of the American Dream, Her ideas of housekeeping depart from the long-standing tradition of frugality, where practicality was paramount. She mentions Helen and Scott Nearing's The Good Life in an essay in Martha Stewart's Living April edition. While she enjoys foraging for 'nature's hidden treasures,' she does not share the Nearing's core values. Their idea of getting back to nature is to live lightly-- few things, low energy consumption. Hers is highly technical, wasteful and showy. "Make due with less" is not Martha's motto, it's "Just have more."

Perfectionism is integral to her image. Having her audiences attempt the impossible ideal of perfection which she claims gets them hooked (if it's easy for Martha, it can be easy for you, too). Most people never realize the staffing that is involved for a layout in her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, or the production hours that go into a few minute long segment on her Lifetime cable show.

The photo layouts in her magazine regularly have both a director an...

... middle of paper ...

...ecome more profuse. To proselytize the population must be one of the things she thinks about during the mere four hours she allows for sleep each night.

Sources Cited

Hoge, Sharon King. "The Place Settings of Kilimanjaro." Forbes (Oct, 23) 1995: 39-40*.

Kasindorf, Jeanie Russell. "Martha, Inc." Working Woman June 1995: 26-31*.

Leyner, Mark. "Martha Stewart." Esquire Aug. 1995: 52.

Lippert, Barbara. "Power Hausfrau vs. Working Woman." Working Woman Dec. 1992: 98.

Lippert, Barbara and Sarah Ferguson. "Our Martha, Ourselves." New York (May 15) 1995: 26-35*.

Money, Joe. "Little Ms. Perfekt." Boating, March 1995: 30.

Speidel, Maria et. al. "The Best Revenge." People Weekly (Oct. 2) 1995: 100-110*.

--"*" Indicates an article was obtained through online services, exact pagination is not available (estimates were made).

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