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Comment by riedel | Hacker News Reader

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It's an image used within imaging since the 70s. It's used because everybody uses it. It being part of an old Playboy centerfold isn't the relevant bit here.

Lena said “Once upon a time, I was the centerfold of Playboy,” says the former model in the new documentary Losing Lena. “But I retired from modeling a long time ago. It’s time I retired from tech, too.”

See https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/How-a-Nude-Playboy-Photo...

Sometimes we keep doing things because we don't stop and think, but it's good to stop and consider if we should continue or change. "Because we've always done it that way" / "because everyone's doing it" can mask many nasty things we wouldn't start doing if given a completely fresh context.

That's very true, but when looking at all the source materials I don't consider this to be one of those nasty things that absolutely need changing. If I was releasing imaging research or any other kind of publicly accessible data I would not use the image just to avoid the angry mob, but I think this is blown out of proportion.

We do it because we always did it is such a great argument.

Apart from the fact that this probably isn't common knowledge, this article is from 2021 (which the OP failed to disclose).

Why not be mad at IEEE for a change? They apparently only managed to ban use of the image in April of 2024.

Why kill whimsy? Do malloc bugs need especially serious images, like concrete walls or men in business suits?

The Lenna image isn't whimsical, it's a cropped nude photo. The people against it don't want image processing to be boring, they want it to be more inclusive. There are hundreds of other whimsical examples that would not be alienating to a good chunk of women.

Most women don't care about this at all. It's way, way down the bottom of the list of sexist bullshit in this industry. Complaining about it is more performative than anything. It's a way to pretend you're doing something for women.

Can confirm, I know a woman who works on image and video compression and she doesn't think Lena is a problem. "It's a pretty woman. What's not to like?"

Note that video compression has "foreman", of the opposite gender, and the angry mob hasn't gone after that one.

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