By Rachel Berger

Every day on my way to school, I’m struck by the contrast between these two subway advertisements.

The first one, unfortunately, I’ve been seeing everywhere, and it always makes me want to hit something. The text, if you can’t make it out, reads “Less lawyer. More appeal.” The image speaks for itself: the same slender young woman used to sell anything and everything, with curves, heels, long legs, and a sultry if vacuous expression. The briefcase at her feet is just another accessory–almost an afterthought.

To a teenage girl who’ll be applying to college soon, who’s considering a career in law, the message  is clear: forget about that J.D. How you look in a little black dress will always, always be more  important. This ad is for the USA television drama Fairly Legal.

The second ad features a smiling woman in boxing gloves leaning against the ropes of a ring. This woman is also young, attractive, and feminine, but she looks happier–and more real. The image hasn’t been photoshopped. Her face–not her legs–is the focal point. The text beneath her reads, “I am not your average girl; Keisher ‘Fire’ McLeod, boxer.” A contender, not a ring girl. The ad is for 4 New York, a WNBC news channel.

How can two advertisements, placed literally side-by-side, present two totally opposite portrayals of  women? One woman is a fictional character and, the other, a native Brooklynite. One woman is  posed and photoshopped; the other, maybe a bit sweaty, but proudly in her element. One promotes  an outdated stereotype of what a woman can be–the other tears it down. (You can see Mrs. McLeod-  Wells’ boxer bio here, by the way. She’s pretty awesome.)

There are over 4 million women in New York City. There are single women, married women, divorced women, lesbian moms, Jewish grandmothers, Starbucks baristas, students, teachers, aspiring actresses, and women of practically every race, religion, and ethnicity. When I think about it, it’s not the sexualized image of the Fairly Legal ad that most provokes me. It’s that this image–so false, predictable, and limiting–is promoted over and over, as if it’s the only way women are. Or the only way they should be.

The truth is that women are too diverse to fit into any one box. Advertisers should start pandering to that demographic. This is a case of media fiction lagging way behind reality.