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There has been some talk in the news recently about sexism and profile pictures.
On Facebook and Linkedin I see the wrong type of profile picture published all the time.  That fishy Facebook pout.  A provocative pose from men and women.  A bloke in a pair of budgie smugglers or equally a woman in a bikini is not a suitable profile picture on the any of the mainstream sites.  Specialist sites suggesting bumping and grinding or illicit liaisons are the only place these should be shown but maybe even here this would be inappropriate too.

Sticking to a classic head and shoulders shot for the most of us can still let an individual personality shine through and project something unique about the person.  Effective blending of lighting, clothing, pose, expression, background, colour, focus emphasis of a person in a relaxed environment will always look better than a fishy Facebook pout or budgie smugglers.

Regardless of accusations of sexism, first impressions and the look of something or someone will always instantly form an opinion.  Whether or not we say what this opinion is depends on our level of social conditioning.

There is a primal fight or flight response within us that we cannot change, therefore if we see someone else and consider them attractive we will recognise this, if we see someone that doesn't fall into our usually accepted parameters we instantly put the barriers up subconsciously.

For a picture the size of a stamp or even smaller when viewed from a smartphone and with our ever shortening attention spans our profile picture must generate an instant positive response for us to be considered someone we could do business with.

Lego people or cartoon characters should not be profile pictures either however the one on the left does look a little like a jaundiced version of me.