So if the "troubled origin" of the Lena picture is the fact that she was nude (yet the picture used for computer science was cropped and did not use any of the nude parts) then why should the replacement be another photo that suggests it is a cropped nude?
Is it the fact that the original Lena picture was pretty and alluring and this one is gross, that makes it "ethically sourced"? Or is that a bad joke? I hope the author realizes that using men in drag as a punchline is also not considered to be socially acceptable nowadays.
The criticism of using the Lena picture for computer science is fair. Pictures for image compression science should be based on more ordinary non-sexual images. Multiple images of people of different color skins, and clothing styles should be used because nowadays it is very easy to over-tune your compression algorithm to a specific type of image or skin tone.
But let us be clear about what exactly is wrong with the Lena picture. It is the fact that a sexual image is being pushed to people that do not want to see a sexual image but merely want to study computer science. This is not going to get fixed by pushing another sexual image to people that do not want to see it.
Feminists say that it is problematic to flood society with sexualized images of women to the point where it is suggested that women are good for sex only. I agree. But there is nothing inherently wrong with taking pictures of women or taking sexy pictures of nude women. Some women like having their pictures taken. Lena Forsen was perfectly willing to get her nude picture taken by playboy.
In perfectly consensual setting taking sexy photos is perfectly fine. Many people enjoy taking them, many people enjoy being in them, many people enjoy looking at them. And it is not some kind of sign of male chauvinism either. I know that because many men like to have sexualized nude pictures taken of them, and they also like to trick me into looking at them even though I do not want to.
And that is the problem, with sexual pictures. When they are forced on to people that they do not want to look at them. So sorry for whoever took this picture, I do not want to look at it. It grosses me out. And I do not appreciate you trying to trick me into looking at it. Your reasoning about providing an ethical alternative to the Lena picture is paper thin and false. If you wanted to provide an ethical alternative, you would be fully clothed.
You are just another exhibitionist that gets a thrill of having many strangers look at sexually suggestive pictures of themselves. Good for you. But try to push your pictures at people that may enjoy looking at them. I don't.