Yahoo To Launch “Shine,” A New Site For Shiny, Happy Women

In an effort to -sell more stuff to- cater to women between the ages of 25 to 54, Yahoo Inc. is set to launch a new site called “Shine.” Because a 25-year-old and a 54-year-old all have the same needs and desires implanted firmly in their uterine linings:

Monday’s launch of Shine is aimed largely at giving the struggling Internet company additional opportunities to sell advertising targeted to the key decision-maker in many households. Yahoo said advertisers in consumer-packaged goods, retail and pharmaceuticals have requested more ways to reach those consumers.

Amy Iorio, vice president for Yahoo Lifestyles, said internal research also shows women are looking for a site to aggregate various content and communications tools.

”These women were sort of caretakers for everybody in their lives,” she said. ”They didn’t feel like there was a place that was looking at the whole them — as a parent, as a spouse, as a daughter. They were looking for one place that gave them everything.”

Were they? Were they also looking for a place that could sell them tampons, Zoloft and yogurt all at once?

With Shine, Yahoo plans to expand its offerings in parenting, sex and love, healthy living, food, career and money, entertainment, fashion, beauty, home life, and astrology.

Allow us to make a wild guess and say that their career and money section will consist of stock photos of women in very high heels and tight skirts gathered together around a water cooler and will include articles like “Dress for Success!” and “How To Climb The Corporate Ladder - In Your Louboutins!”

It’s great that Yahoo wants to serve women looking for a place to go on the internet. But to categorize all women, from different backgrounds and such wildly varied age groups, as one, homogenous group, while a potentially good method to advertise products aimed at women, can only be a failed attempt to act as an accurate representation of women in general. It does work in the site’s favor, though, that its editors seem to have a great sense of humor and smarts. But we’ll hold onto our healthy sense of -hateful mudslinging- skepticism for a while.

…Unless they do the site up all in pink. Because, come on. Chicks dig that.

Yahoo Launching Site for Women 25 - 54 [NY Times]