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Comment by benj111 | Hacker News Reader

So we're swapping the possibly problematic ethics of a original with the possibly problematic ethics of showing this to people?

I mean is it normal to find that mustache and hat combo this attractive, (as a hetero male)???

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Meh I don't find the man unattractive personally. But I also wouldn't say he's attractive. Different strokes, may a hundred flowers blossom, etc. I certainly don't think it's ethically wrong to show this to people, or at least not for this reason. I do question if it's appropriate for the workplace though. I guess it depends?

But I think it's fairly clear that the point wasn't to be attractive.

In a way, it's actually more offensive. I get that this is a joke. I don't think the author expects anybody to actually use this image, but the call is to retire the lena image not to continue it in a different fashion. I can see someone interpreting this as another man making a joke of women being offended so they step in themselves, "because men are tougher and don't get offended as easily."

How is this image ethically problematic?

Aesthetically problematic has an ethical component (and you all know it) but it’s a distortion of a familiar work (meant to cause a response) and ethical questions of Rick Rolling or whatever you call it are less important ethically but not immaterial.

Edit: the image also steals from Mona Lisa’s mustache and DaVinci is under copyright for seven additional years.

I was mainly joking.

Although the are issues about this in a professional setting.

If you display this to a prospective client in place of Lena, they think it's unprofessional and don't employ your services, your company goes under and you lose your job, is there not an ethical component to that?

It isn't. Just like the original and the cropped version aren't ethically problematic. It was a commercial photo shoot performed under paid contract with a public magazine.

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