Nothing like a sample tube full of cheetah poop to make you #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/tdBTLRos4p
— Sarah Durant (@SarahMDurant) June 11, 2015
72-year-old British Nobel laureate Sir Tim “don’t fall in love with me” Hunt sparked a conversation about gender in STEM earlier this week when he chose to reveal himself as a massively sexist douchenozzle while speaking at an event designed to celebrate female scientists (his timing is impeccable).
Hunt has since resigned from his teaching position at University College London, but the conversation sparked by his statements (“Let me tell you about my trouble with girls… three things happen when they are in the lab… You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry”) is ongoing.
In order to dispel any misconceptions about women in the workplace that Hunt’s absurd comments might have perpetuated, The Vagenda asked women in STEM to share some of their professional accomplishments on Twitter with the hashtag #distractinglysexy. It might be one of my favorite things that’s ever happened on the Internet.
Ada Lovelace #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/7Fofr0kqI9
— The Vagenda Team (@VagendaMagazine) June 10, 2015
@rhiannonlucyc @VagendaMagazine Indian rocket scientists #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/C4FtjBmguD
— Jane Evans (@jede39) June 10, 2015
Thought these were for eye safety?Clearly there to collect tears of the female scientists #distractinglysexy hmmm… pic.twitter.com/CE1PFxnFGP
— Katie Morgan (@katiemorgan79) June 11, 2015
Hearts in the palm of our hands #distractinglysexy #TimHunt @VagendaMagazine pic.twitter.com/KA1askiwCD
— ash (@ashcl0ud) June 11, 2015
What might Dr Elion have achieved if she hadn’t been #DistractinglySexy & a crybaby? I mean besides her Nobel? pic.twitter.com/cdyOMfXMoj
— Minal Unicornwali (@minalh) June 11, 2015
Yes I know I am #distractinglysexy in my Level A PPE. The suit totally flatters my curves. pic.twitter.com/LUb5nXx9yO
— Geeky Girl Engineer (@gkygirlengineer) June 11, 2015
Filter mask protects me from hazardous chemicals and muffles my woman cries. Double win! #DistractinglySexy pic.twitter.com/5kYlm6SNud
— Amelia Cervera (@ameliacervera) June 11, 2015
Still #distractinglysexy after a full day of cell culture. Didn’t even cry this time, so proud! #HeyaTimHunt pic.twitter.com/RdAxxLJ1fY
— Lucie de Beauchamp (@lu_debeauchamp) June 11, 2015
love this ( c/o @dailyedge ) #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/UCvZimMW8Q
— mark haddon (@mark_haddon) June 11, 2015
Neuro grad student freezer diving for fish brain slides. #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/XqGGeUZKjL
— Cathy Newman (@cenewman0) June 11, 2015
My lenses bring all the profs to the yard. #distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/tgDNzg28gJ
— Nermeen Youssef (@Cleo2atra) June 11, 2015
I definitely recommend checking out more #distractinglysexy tweets, partially for sick burnage and partially to get a really inspiring look at the many diverse women making huge advancements in their field.
The hashtag has also inspired an important discussion online about emotion in the workplace, the inevitability of office romances, and the danger of viewing vulnerability or the ability to develop romantic attachments as inherently feminine traits.
#distractinglysexy I cried when #Ebola patients died or when got better.I have feelings & I deal w them.So should you pic.twitter.com/XYMh7ykT5o
— Elisabetta (@RunningPostdoc) June 11, 2015
#Distractinglysexy isn’t necessarily an indictment of women who do appeal to the traditional male gaze or cry while at work, but a reminder to reconsider gendered expectations and to deliberately work against stereotypes, particularly in fields with massive gender imbalances.
Also, office romances happen. (Heck, I’m the product of one). But placing the “responsibility” for those emotions primarily on the shoulder of female employees buys into a dangerous narrative and deserves to be interrogated. Primarily by lots of sassy lady scientists:
Am I wearing scrubs on a bat field study to prevent spread of White Nose Syndrome, or just bc I’m #distractinglysexy? pic.twitter.com/GxfpoU2nGQ
— Dr. Paige Jarreau (@FromTheLabBench) June 11, 2015
(via Identities.Mic)
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