Getty Images dumps cliched stock photos for new 'Lean In Collection'

Getty Images dumps cliched stock photos for new 'Lean In Collection'

Getty Images in partnership with Lean In has launched the 'Lean In Collection' of stock photos, replacing the cliched, sterilized images of women and girls we have come to see on everything from billboards to magazine ads.

Lean In is a women’s empowerment nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook and author of "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead." The Getty Images collection boasts "over 2,500 images of female leadership in contemporary work and life," according to the Getty Images website. The female leadership includes women and girls of all ages, at home, in school, at work, and outside.

The collection aims to remove the cliched images of girls and women used in stock photography for marketing campaigns. The images are powerful, arresting, and beautiful, without the normal objectification found in many fashion spreads and Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues.

Pam Grossman, director of visual trends at Getty Images, commissioned a study to track the changes in the representation of girls and women in the media, leading to the new collection.

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/Modern-Parenthood/2014/0213/Getty-Images-dumps-cliched-stock-photos-for-new-Lean-In-Collection


Here is a photo that goes with this story from Susan Polgar's twitter account ( https://twitter.com/SusanPolgar ):



Problem here is I am sure some folks are going to complain as much about this image as the one from Sports Illustrated because in this case the girl is using pink pieces (and wearing a pink shirt). If she happens to like pink it is because she was made to and this photo is just as sexist as an SI swimsuit edition is.

Or it could be simply that she is a little girl who likes that color and chose a chess set that reflected that because...well...she likes it. I always preferred the muted tones of solid wood pieces myself and the cavalier style pieces.

My daughter is about as geeky as they come (like her dad) and she loves anime, dr who, and a slew of other things but loves to dress up and decorates her room in pink. It has occurred to me that maybe I should talk to her about that and tell her the only reason she likes that color is because she is oppressed or something and she needs to rebel to prove she is true to the cause of some women. Hate what others love because if they love it than it is wrong. Or something.

Sometimes a thing is just a thing.