Hey, hun : sales, sisterhood, supremacy, and the other lies behind multilevel marketing

Hey, hun Sales, sisterhood, supremacy, and the other lies behind multilevel marketing

Emily Lynn Paulson

Book - 2023

"She signed up for the sisterhood, free cars, and the promise of a successful business of her own. Instead, she ended up with an addiction, broken friendships, and the rubble of a toppled pyramid ... scheme. Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing is the eye-opening, funny, and dangerous personal story of author Emily Lynn Paulson rising to the top of the pyramid in the multilevel marketing (MLM) world, only to recognize that its culture and business practices went beyond a trendy marketing scheme and into the heart of white supremacy in America. A significant polemic on how MLMs operate, Hey, Hun expertly lays out their role in the cultural epidemic of isolation and the cult-like ideologi...es that course through their trainings, marketing, and one-on-one interactions. Equally entertaining and smart, Paulson's first-person accounts, acerbic wit, and biting commentary will leave you with a new perspective on those "Hey Hun" messages flooding your inbox"--

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Subjects
Multilevel marketing.
Feminist theory.
Women employees.
Direct selling.
Published
[New Egypt, New Jersey] : Row House Publishing [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Emily Lynn Paulson (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xvii, 344 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-344).
ISBN
9781955905251
  • Introduction
  • The Best Fake Friends You'll Ever Have
  • I'm Positive That You Suck
  • The Ladybosses
  • That Time of the Month
  • Lots of Dollars and Absolutely No Sense
  • "Licking" Things to Claim Them as Your Own
  • The Party Never Ends and Neither Does Your Anxiety
  • It's Lonely (and Ugly) at the Top
  • Elbow, Elbow, Wrist, Wrist
  • Pray to the Gurus and Goddesses
  • Cult Defectors Pay the Price
  • You Can Check Out, but You Can Never Leave
  • Escaping the Pyramid
  • Life Takes on a New Shape (and It's Not a Pyramid)
  • Postscript
  • Acknowledgments
  • Bibliography
  • Resources
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Ever get one of those "hey, hun!" messages enticing you to join a friend selling in a multilevel marketing scheme (MLM)? It might have been from Paulson (Highlight Real, 2019). This memoir of working for "Rejuvinat" (pseudonym for Rodan + Fields) is about two addictions: alcohol and the belonging, independence, and affirmation of being a high-achieving "hun" of a major MLM. Paulson cleverly uses MLMs' own methods to sow doubt about the predatory techniques used to draw in participants; her friendly, informal voice leads the reader through her own redemption tale of escaping Rejuvinat, dropping breadcrumbs on how MLMs use patriarchy, heteronormativity, socioeconomic disparities, and white supremacy culture to pit women against one other in the race towards their own "free" car. Paulson's cautionary tale is one of influencer culture, the isolation of middle-class motherhood, and her attempt to make amends for the way her alcoholism and addiction to the MLM culture has harmed others. A must-read for fans of Amanda Montell's Cultish (2021) and Sara Petersen's Momfluenced (2023).

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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