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11 Jun 2015

#Distractinglysexy female scientists fight sexism on Twitter

After scientist Sir Tim Hunt says “girls” in labs can put male colleagues off their work, women scientists express their disapproval of his views using the ironic hashtag “distractingly sexy”.

Biochemist Sir Tim Hunt (Getty)

Sir Tim, a Nobel prize-winning biochemist, reportedly told a conference in South Korea: “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.”

The comments provoked outrage, with the UK’s most eminent science body the Royal Society swiftly distancing itself from Sir Tim, saying “science needs women.” Sir Tim has been a fellow of the society since 1991.

Cathy Newman blog: Sir Tim Hunt comments: just a little bit sexist?

On Thursday Sir Tim resigned from his post as honorary professor with the faculty of life sciences at University College London.

Despite this, the backlash continued online, with female scientists taking the opportunity to post pictures of themeselves at work on Twitter under the hashtag distractinglysexy: