NEW ORLEANS — A photographer in Louisiana is under fire after taking a Christmas photo for a family she was acquainted. The photo has been slammed by many online commenters as sexist and offensive. <br /> <br />The photo was taken by Hannah Hawkes, who runs her own photography business in Louisiana, and features Lanie and James Johnson plus their two daughters and son. The reason the image went viral is because the girls and the mother in the photo are shown with tape over their mouths to stop them from speaking, while their hands are also bound with Christmas lights. <br /> <br />The father is seen holding a placard with the words, "Peace on Earth" on it, implying that peace equals quiet (very quiet) women and girls. <br /> <br />Photographer Hawkes made a spirited defence of her photograph, saying it was done in a spirit of humor and was not meant to be offensive, but people from across the world have condemned the picture as blatantly sexist and insensitive. <br /> <br />The Johnson family also finds nothing wrong with the picture, with the father telling the media that if someone finds the picture offensive, they should simply not look at it. <br /> <br />The incident adds to a collection of choices made in poor taste related to the holidays, including the manufacturing of offensive sweaters and the creation of a zombie-themed nativity scene that have only added to social and cultural conflicts in the United States. <br /> <br />Take a look at the picture and let us know if you think it's offensive or funny.<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.<br /><br />Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net<br />Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj<br />Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f<br /><br />Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/<br />Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus
