Sir Tim Hunt - women should stay out of labs because they distract men

[MurielWoods]

and they cry too easily and make men fall in love with them

I shit you not

The trouble with male scientists is they think they're God's gift, they sexually harrass you, and they think they are always right.

Well done UCL, a University taking sexism seriously.

Am impressed with UCL's swift and unequivocal response. Even if its just media savvy, it sets the right tone.

X post with drinkscabinet!

Oh good, I'm glad he's resigned, and good riddance.
That kind of shit gives science a bad name.

They're not all like that of course but there are bad apples.

I met DH when we were both science undergrads. I'm distracting him now- it is partly my fault that we have one child and are expecting a second next month. If there were no women in science, he might not have met anybody and had kids.

Oh dear. He is currently more famous for his sexist, rather foolish remarks than anything else he has done. What an achievement.

Sorry his age is no excuse. These ideas went out long before he was a young man.

He has just announced his resignation as an honorary professor.

Good and good on UCL too for their statement!

Good on UCL.

His apology was the usual fuddled, passive-aggressive shite:

'light-hearted, ironic comments' which were 'interpreted deadly seriously by my audience'

it was just a jooooke, you harpies. Lighten up.

'I just meant to be honest, actually'

so not a joke, then. I am a brave lonely soul telling the unpopular truth.

In my experience, falling in love at work often happens because too much work is being done rather than too little. The law firms I have worked in have been rife with it (or at least rumours of it) precisely because no one ever leaves the office to go home and the only people they ever meet are at work.

Accordingly, they are forced to shag fall in love with whatever they are presented with in the office. A lab is probably much the same.

What I love about his remarks is that "the trouble with girls" is that you fall in love with them and they fall in love with you - no matter which way round it is, it is always the fault of the "girls". "Boys" never take any responsibility for anything.

And on the crying thing, if you have a legitimate criticism about someone, and make it, you just have to accept that they may not like hearing it. Just because men don't cry, it doesn't mean they are not upset and just wander back to their desks and work efficiently for the rest of the day whilst taking on board your criticism and adapting their behaviour accordingly. You just can't see their emotions - doesn't mean they don't have them.

Sadly, I don't think it's down to his being a dinosaur necessarily. Plenty of younger men display similar thinking.

Actually, that should read "Some of the law firms" - some are bigger hotbeds than others (or maybe you hear more of the gossip when you are younger)...

I met dp while we were both graduate students, somehow we both managed to finish our degrees despite that and as far as I remember I never cried. I know loads of other scientist couples who met in the lab and have successfull careers.

A friend of mine who was lectured by him just told me that he was seemed strange & 'quirky', and not great at picking up on social cues...

I'm quirky and don't pick up on social cues. I know better than to say shit like this. If he's a Nobel laureate, I don't think his problem is that he's not intelligent enough to understand that you don't say stuff like this.

I knew a couple who met while dissecting a corpse together on their medicine course. He had engineered to partner her because he fancied her. Proves beyond doubt that women should not be doctors.

I liked Imran Khan's take down...

Meanwhile, Imran Khan, chief executive of the British Science Association, said the comments were "frustrating".
"Sadly, dealing with sexism and other forms of discrimination are a daily reality for many people, and I imagine it's hard to find Sir Tim's comments funny if you've been held back by systemic bias for years - whether those remarks were intended as a joke or not," he said.

And maybe some men should FTFO and let us get on with work.

I loved science at school and wanted to pursue it. I didn't because the level of sexual harassment in class was so bad (and constant), it was near impossible to learn. This was harassment from other students, not staff, but we were expected to put up with it.

I was also bullied by some girls in that class - I had ammonia splashed in my face (for a laugh - I'm so sorry I didn't find it funny) which still means I can't smell properly. I also had dilute hydrochloric acid splashed over me - again, for a laugh. That hurt and the acid burnt holes in my clothing.

This was in a considered naice school in the late 80s. If things haven't moved on, maybe that's why we have a shortage of scientists in the UK.

In the unlikely event Tim Hunt is reading this - women in science would prefer it if men could keep their hands and their penises to themselves, most of us aren't pathetic idiots who idolize our male colleagues. And yes, in my case, it would have helped in the early years if other girls were supportive, rather than aggressive - thank goodness that changed at Uni.

Just for clarity, I did get to pursue a similar subject to science at Uni, but we can't 'go back' at school. I'd love to study science again, but really feel it is too late to be doing GCSEs - the cost would be impossible.

So I had to give up a subject I loved, and did well in - mainly because of sexual harassment (mostly physical, makes me feel sick writing about it) - so yes, I have a massive issue with Tim Hunt implying that women distracting men is an issue in science. I'd like to reply, in short, FOYW (Fuck Off You Wanker).

Wow Karen, that's dreadful! Makes me gladder than ever that I went to an all-girls secondary school!
I loved chemistry, it was really my "thing" - although not pure chemistry, I like the applied side more.

And I totally agree that women should not be suggested as being responsible YET AGAIN for men failing to keep their penises in order.

Sir Tim who carved out a long standing career as principle researcher at Cancer research UK? You'd have thought he'd be one of the first to champion women scientists

Oh I agree geekymommy 100% just thought it was interesting.

See if he'd run his planned speech past his wife first, none of this would have happened,

but oh no, silly me, he does not like working with women