-
Not Taking a Shine to Yahoo
While everyone has been busy analyzing the campaign of the first viable female presidential candidate and gossiping about rumors of a possible female vice presidential candidate; while we've got women running the House of Representatives and telling John McCain what to do about the economy, Yahoo has been cooking up a site that focuses on our interests: Yahoo for Chix. I mean, "Shine." And all I can say is, "Wow." I mean, "Ewww."
I admit, I read the occasional InStyle, if only to look at what clothes I'd buy if still in possession of my pre-childbearing waistline (slimmer) and budget (fatter). And I am, after all, writing from Slate's very own no-boys-allowed blog. But the problem with women's-only content is not the concept. It's the execution. And Shine comes off looking like all women care about is sex, shoes, and "surprisingly cute wall decals."
I don't come to women-focused media outlets necessarily looking for the latest on Iraq. And sure, I like sex, and I like shoes. But there's an enormous middle ground that sites like Shine don't make use of. Rising food prices affect every trip I make to the grocery store. The housing crisis has me worried about my home's value. How the hell did no one notice that hundreds of women and children were being treated like chattel in Texas? You can take almost any front-page story and cast it in a way that's meaningful to women.
But at least the site doesn't totally ignore the news of the world. There is a tiny area that links to news headlines, and it's called the "Cheat Sheet." In essence, "We know you are too dumb to care what's going on in the world, so here's some news to help you carry on a conversation with your husband when he tires of hearing you talk about Rob Lowe's nanny."
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?