The Slate Group, publisher of Slate, Slate V, The Root and The Big Money, recently launched Double X (www.DoubleX.com), a new kind of women’s online magazine, mostly by, for and about women. Departing from the tone of other publications for women, Double X will offer irreverent, sophisticated analysis of politics, culture, family, fashion and many other topics. The aim is to build a robust online conversation among the most engaged women writers and readers, and the men who want to know what they’re thinking.  “I grew up mostly baffled by women’s magazines,” says Emily Bazelon, one of the site’s three founding editors. “Double X is our attempt to create a savvy women’s magazine, the kind that we’ve long wanted to have to read, which will set the agenda for what women are thinking and talking about. And I’m so excited about being online, where we can engage with our audiences with a new immediacy.”  Abandoning the typical hierarchical structure of a magazine with one editor-in-chief, Double X will be led by three editors who co-founded the site: Emily Bazelon, Meghan O’Rourke and Hanna Rosin, who also write and edit for Slate. Peggy White, formerly general manager of Yahoo! Finance, joins the site as publisher.  “There’s no reason a so-called ‘woman’s magazine’ can’t be as smart and ambitious as any other magazine,” says Rosin. “Whether we’re writing about the show ‘Mad Men,’ wide belts, or Hillary Clinton, we will apply the same standards of intellectual rigor and cultural analysis.”  Double X is a spin-off of the XX Factor women’s blog that launched on Slate in the fall of 2007. The blog quickly became one of the top 10 features on the site.  “The decision to launch Double X was an easy one. There are very few places on the web where you can find a civilized, intelligent conversation, and The XX Factor blog is one of the best,” said Jacob Weisberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Slate Group. “We don’t pretend that men and women talk about everything in the same way, and the XX Factor blog proved that there are women—and men too—who seek a woman’s perspective in Slate’s voice.” In addition to features on news, culture and family & parenting, Double X will have other regular essays on politics, law, money, food, fashion, books, health, sports and more, featuring Slate writers and a variety of contributors. Double X is also collaborating with ABCNews.com to share and promote content.  Sprint has also signed on as a launch sponsor.