Boobs and brains.

• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

The racy photograph accompanying Anne Kim's article about the absence of women in Washington think tanks ("Where Are the Women Wonks?," duly/August 2012) was inappropriate. Why is there a "cheesecake" photo used for an analytical piece on why women are left out of policymaking? Clearly they are left out of editorial decisions as well.

This is offensive, and does nothing to illustrate the piece. It does underscore how women are sexualized and objectified by media.

SamiJ

Via Web comment

Anne Kim responds:

I don't mind the picture. In fact, I like it. The photo isn't inappropriate; it's provocative. It directly challenges people to confront their own biases about how beauty (or the lack thereof) affects the prospects for a woman's success in ways that men don't have to deal with. No one wants to admit that they take a woman's looks into...