In an effort to enlighten ourselves, we searched the term “sexist” on several stock photography sites, and we came up with some fairly resolute results. First of all, almost all sexism occurs in the office. Second, coffee and ties are often unwitting accomplices to sexism. Third, there’s a guy out there somewhere who has a shirt with little pigs all over it and the word “Sexy” in big letters. Watch out for him: he’s clearly very sexist and dangerous.

It’s hard to put humor aside when looking at some of the photos. They’re more ridiculous than sexist.

As they pointed out, many of the photos chosen by the companies (or maybe just by HuffPost) take place in an office. It’s at work where there’s an obvious imbalance of power. It wasn’t always men, though, who were the perpetrators of sexism (or ridiculousness).

But what makes this fascinating isn’t that these photos are ironclad definitions of sexist behavior. Some of them clearly aren’t. But they are what someone, somewhere – specifically, researchers at these stock photo companies - perceive as sexist. Because two people won’t perceive a situation in exactly the same way, discussing perceptions usually lead to interesting conversations.

So, take a look at the slideshow at the Huffington Post and tell me what you think.

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In case you haven’t heard, Debrahlee Lorenzana is suing her former employer, Citibank. She claims she was fired after her bosses said her beauty was too distracting. On Wednesday, a 2003 video surfaced showing Lorenzana getting her second breast implant procedure. In the video, she said she wants to “look like a Playboy Playmate” and be “tits on a stick.”

That’s a slightly different impression from the interviews and articles we’ve seen of her over the last week. Her story has been that she’s a single working mom whose bosses at Citibank said her beauty was so distracting to her bosses that they fired her. Whatever she wore, the beauty that blessed her  (or cursed her?) was too sexy for Citi.

Photo by Carrie Schechter

Here’s what she said on Monday’s “Today” show:

What I’m trying to make is the point that enough is enough. I’ve been through my whole entire life going through this type of harassments [sic]. And I have done the other.. gone the other way where you stayed quiet. You just leave, get a better job and it just.. it continues to happen. And it’s the point that you say, ‘I don’t want to go through this anymore.’

After hearing that, it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for her. Which makes it sound like such a great story. She’s a beautiful working mom who was pushed around by the big bank. Then there are the issues of workplace dress codes, what’s too sexy and what isn’t, and tons of reasons to show more photos of Lorenzana and have commentators say how beautiful she is.

The new video, however, shows that some of her beauty wasn’t a blessing. It was a purchase.

I was skeptical about Lorenzana’s motives from the beginning. There was the cover story in the Village Voice along with the extensive and professional-looking photo gallery. There were the “Today” show and “Early Show” appearances. And then all the appearances New York’s local TV media. It was like she was going on a press tour.

But this video and her appearances don’t mean she’s not telling the truth. Her breast implants and desire to be desirable don’t mean Citibank did fire her for her looks. Maybe she and her lawyer see this lawsuit as a way to seek justice and are using her looks and the media to make some money in the future. Perhaps she could be a Playboy Playmate. Maybe she could host a reality show about working moms, personal finance, or people standing up to big corporations.

What do you think?

Does the new video change your opinion about Lorenzana’s claim that she was fired for being too sexy? Does it matter that she claims she was fired for being too sexy when she had plastic surgery to look like a Playboy Playmate and be “tits on a stick”?

What do you think about her making herself available for so much media over the past week? Would you watch a show with her in it?

Leave your comments below.

Watch Debrahlee’s Breast Enhancement Surgery – Long Island Plastic Surgical Group in People & Blogs |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com