I was not aware that see-through shirts and cleavage was the trademark of a good lawyer in New Zealand. Apparently I have a lot to learn about their judicial system.
— a comment left on Facebook in response to a picture used by LEX magazine to entice people to “like” the New Zealand Law Students Association (NZLSA) page on the social networking site.
(Read on to see the picture that’s being slammed as sexist by women lawyers the world over.)
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Before we get to the goods, we’ll give you some background information. LEX magazine is published by the NZLSA twice yearly, and the photo in question was originally disseminated about two years ago as a tongue-in-cheek nod to a 2010 LexisNexis advertisement that was regarded by many as sexist.
The photo was recently recirculated, and it met with great derision. Fairfax NZ News has additional details:
NZLSA president Seamus Woods said that, although he was not involved in the ad’s design, it was intended to be “eye-catching”.
“It was not intended to be taken seriously, and had a target audience of students, which is perhaps a more robust audience than usual. The NZLSA believes that it has a strong mandate to represent female law students and that it does so effectively and earnestly.”
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Well, it’s certainly eye-catching, alright! Without further ado, here’s the controversial photo (click to enlarge):
Do you think this depicts an “effective” and “earnest” representation of female law students? We don’t.
Law school magazine blasted for sexist ad [Fairfax NZ News]