November 16, 2009

The male re-enfolds its female.

DoubleX, having emerged from Slate, is reabsorbed.
The decision is being made for business reasons rather than as an editorial judgment.
You'd think breaking out the female-oriented content would be a good way to get advertising. All that shampoo and makeup. All that diet and baby food. Apparently, not.

20 comments:

John said...

ee a site full of a bunch of self absorbed middle aged top shelf white women contemplating their navels failed to attract an audience. I am shocked.

Ralph L said...

Aside from XX, there is 71% girlie content at Slate, so it makes sense to keep it all together.

Those automatic menus make it impossible to get to Kaus directly. I have to go to "blogs" first.

Synova said...

The thing is... is it male?

There are very few things beyond "The Man Show" that are about and for men exclusively. That something is male dominated doesn't mean that it's about men. Yes, there are men's magazines... but Slate isn't one of them.

And the fact is that the appeal is broad and includes women and midgets and creatures from Mars.

But any time someone develops a column for women or some other "minority" it *by definition* is limited in scope and limited in appeal.

I notice this in literature... someone decides to promote, say, Hispanic authors who write Hispanic stuff that has appeal to Hispanics... and that is fabulous and a wonderful niche market.

NICHE market.

By definition.

Like Hillary saying how she's going to concentrate on women's issues... or people fussing and saying she *ought* to concentrate on women's issues. Shouldn't she concentrate on matters of State? And aren't matters of State everyone's issues?

traditionalguy said...

The oldest group dynamic reality known is that a group of men will attract women to join in while a group of women will attract no one.

Ron said...

Whew! I looked at the topic headline and I thought Meade was finally taking over!

Here the gynocracy continues apace!

former law student said...

Their chief sponsors seemed to be how to lose weight and how to earn $63 an hour part-time.

Joe said...

Salon is male? Then where are all the nude women?

At best it's metrosexual.

John said...

XX was such a collection of uptight, over educated cultural white women. "Oh God little Alexander pointed his finger like a gun at little Zoe during constructive play time today. What am I going to do?" There are few people in the world that I feel more sorry for than Baylzon's children. Those kids are going to be in therapy for decades.

They should have brought in someone who could actually think and write something interesting like Virginia Postrel or Camile Paglia.

Awesome said...

"Those automatic menus make it impossible to get to Kaus directly. I have to go to "blogs" first."

Screw that. www.kausfiles.com will get you there without any offensive Slate content hitting your eyeballs :)

Anonymous said...

"You'd think breaking out the female-oriented content would be a good way to get advertising. All that shampoo and makeup."

Because we know that's what today's sophisticated woman is really interested in ... the latest eye shadow color.

You've come no way, baby.

God you are such a female hating misogynist, Ann.

Ralph L said...

I enjoy Slate's Dear Prudence:

Cabo Madison, WI: I never thought I'd ask anyone or myself this question, but I must, and you seem to be the right person to answer it. I'm a 57-year-old gorgeous professional blonde woman, with lots of brains and also many plastic surgeries. To begin, I got a beautiful full C cup breast augmentation, later I acquired lovely rounded buttocks implants and at 56 I had a partial facelift that left my face looking as young as I feel, which borders on forty. My students at school think I look in my twenties and everyone thinks I look super sexy and natural. Sure, only my doctors and blog commenters know the truth! The problem is after my eighth divorce, I've become timid and insecure about actually having sex with a new man because I don't know what I would say, if they asked why I had all these surgeries. Now after getting so many added assets to the many natural ones I myself used to sell to pirates, has made me feel too perfect to be true or artificially beautiful, which might be interpreted as being superficial or insecure. Why is it that becoming the physical person I always wanted to be, without flaws, still leaves me feeling unhappy and scared?? Please, help me understand the problem I'm confronting because somehow finding the solution escapes me, a law professor.

Emily Yoffe: If you're 57 and you've been cut and sucked and stuffed head to toe in order to achieve your goal of becoming flawless, and now you're afraid you're too perfect to have sex with (I'm trying to understand your problem, and I think that's it), you can stop worrying. No one who's had as much "work" as you've had looks natural anymore. You may be scared because you realize you've invested so much in your shell, that you're not sure what's inside anymore, besides silicone. You sound like you may have body dysmorphic disorder. Michael Jackson probably was a sufferer, too. The best I can offer you is that you stay away from the knives, and spend far less time in front of mirrors. Then find a therapist who has a special knowledge of this disorder to help you be content with being a middle-aged woman with a good brain and many accomplishments.

Eric said...

I once worked for a company that was sort of spun off and then reabsorbed like this. But they didn't take us back because it wasn't working out.

They took us back because we were making tons of money and they were losing money. They needed the cash flow to fix the parent company.

veni vidi vici said...

it's all tits on a boar, to me.

Steven said...

You'd think breaking out the female-oriented content would be a good way to get advertising.

Except this is the Web; they can serve me ads that match the gestalt my apparent interests, instead of guessing from just the specific site I'm visiting. Thus, for example, I've been served US-specific ads while visiting an Australian newspaper site.

LonewackoDotCom said...

The hegemonical patriarchical Oppressors from the Patriarchy win again!

Quick, get Amanda Marcotte on the phone for insight.

traditionalguy said...

Slate needs a centerfold of Camille Paglia and stories on the greatest sexual moves among Phd's Gone Wild. Then they will sell shampoo.

Alex said...

For manly men there is always Spike TV and Penthouse magazine.

Henry said...

Slate needs a centerfold of Camille Paglia and stories on the greatest sexual moves among Phd's Gone Wild. Then they will sell shampoo.

The Whore of Mensa by Woody Allen.

kentuckyliz said...

"Double XX" sounds like bad porn.

Good porn is Triple XXX!!!

Sigivald said...

People read Slate?

I mean, apart from KausFiles, why would anyone?