London woman Laura Fernee says she's 'too attractive' to work

[The Straight Story]

London woman Laura Fernee says she's 'too attractive' to work

A LONDON woman says she has been unemployed for two years because her good looks caused "massive problems" in the workplace.

Laura Fernee, who has a science PhD, says her last job was at a medical research lab where she earned £30,000 a year ($47,000) from 2008 until 2011.

But Ms Fernee, 33, says she was left with no choice but to quit when comments from co-workers about her attractive physical appearance became too much.

"I'm not lazy and I'm no bimbo," Ms Fernee told The Daily Mail.

"The truth is my good looks have caused massive problems for me when it comes to employment, so I’ve made the decision that employment just isn’t for me at the moment. It's not my fault...I can’t help the way I look."

http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/london-woman-laura-fernee-says-shes-too-attractive-to-work/story-e6frfm9r-1226647294922

[Brickbat]

1. To me, it doesn't seem like her looks are the problem.

It's her asshole co-workers who should have been warned, reprimanded, and then fired if their harassment continued.

[cali]

24. to me it seems, she's the problem. I don't buy what she's selling

I suspect her personality and arrogance has more to do with her problems than anything else.

[pnwmom]

28. But sexual harassment is still pervasive in the science

and engineering world.

Personally, she comes across as a jerk, but she's talking about a real problem.

[Dash87]

2. Narcissist.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. Me, too, but I have yet to convince my co-workers of that.

[pinboy3niner]

9. Brings to mind the question...

"Who are you gonna believe--me or your lyin' eyes?"

[geek tragedy]

4. I'm too sexy for this lab, too sexy to drive a cab

I'm too sexy to hold a job, too sexy to not be a snob

[HappyMe]

11. Damn it!

Well played.


DUzy nominee, I think.

[eissa]

16. Brilliant!

As for this woman, she's full of shit. A lot of very attractive people are employed. I work with quite a few, and somehow, despite the curse of their beauty, they manage. As difficult as that might sound

[pnwmom]

31. She's a jerk, but women in science and engineering still face a great deal

of sexual harassment - more than in many other professions.

[eissa]

37. I certainly have no doubt

that harassment exists, particularly in male-dominated fields. But I work in education, in a science-related department, and yes, we do have attractive people here. It DOES happen. In fact, one of the women, who was quite pretty, was elected chair of the department. Now could one argue that she received that position because of her appearance? If we wouldn't (nor should we, obviously) believe that a woman could attain higher positions based solely on her looks, then I'm equally skeptical that this woman was not recognized for the same reason. Also, whenever someone invokes "they're just jealous," I immediately think narcissist. This woman is peddling a book, what better way to garner publicity than to proclaim something as outlandish as "I can't work because I'm gorgeous."

[MineralMan]

5. More like too stuck on herself to work.

That's my take on it.

[TlalocW]

6. It's why I work from home

My good looks, charm, and natural grace of movement that mesmerizes others are too detrimental to the workplace. They're a blessing and a curse.

TlalocW

[Arugula Latte]

19. Your overwhelming beauty is even oozing through the Intertubes and onto The DU.

Please stop it; we can only take so much.

[Ikonoklast]

23. And here I thought it was because you smelled like rotting cabbage.

I stand corrected.

[Marr]

35. My god, those are beautiful characters you typed.

Do you work out?

[Mopar151]

7. Sally Brown (Charlie's little sister)

" They're just jealous of my naturally curly hair!"

[TlalocW]

33. That's Frieda

Not Sally. Other than her naturally curly hair, the only other significant thing about her was her constantly harping on Snoopy to go out and chase rabbits instead of napping on his doghouse.

TlalocW

[treestar]

8. Try modeling

Then you will hit an age where you won't have to worry about it!

ETA: Looking at the snipped of interview - I'm thinking she is more of a wannabe writer and chooses this to be able to write a feminist point. She's saying she will write a book.

[KansDem]

10. If she really wanted to work...

...I've got some ugly she could borrow.

[loli phabay]

22. rofl, funny and poignant

[Buzz Clik]

29. LOL! +1

[BainsBane]

12. The video clip in the article

contains no such statement by her claiming herself to be "too attractive." This article appears to be a right-wing take from the right-wing Daily Mail on sexual harassment.

[Comrade Grumpy]

17. Why am I not surprised?

The Daily Mail gets used way too much here, and it is a crappy rag. But it is good at publishing sensationalist drivel that DUers seem to love to salivate over.

[BainsBane]

18. Interesting, isn't it?

particularly when it comes to women.

[pnwmom]

32. Makes sense. They don't want to admit that sexual harassment is real,

and the science and engineering fields are full of it.

[siligut]

36. It sounded like something from Daily Mail

Thanks for figuring that out, I just wasn't going to watch a video of a woman proclaiming herself too beautiful.

And, I actually doubt sexual harassment has much to do with looks, this is another RW meme.

[BainsBane]

40. It's a way to trivialize it

and force blame on the victim by identifying her as vain. Obviously I don't know all the circumstances involved, but there is a stark disconnect between the article and the interview.

[siligut]

42. Playing the odds that most people won't watch the video

And yes, trivializing concerns that are not their own is RW SOP.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Would "suck it up" be inappropriate here?

[Rex]

14. Goodluck with that crap!

And she IS working, just as a self-employed person now. She is going to make money of her self-invented controversy. Not even close to being original. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[R B Garr]

20. Yet she has tons of makeup on ala Kim Kardashian

Maybe it's just because she's on TV promoting her book. I agree with some other comments that there are lots of attractive people in the workplace and it sounds like she just wanted to be a writer.

[msongs]

21. too bad the article did not have a picture of an attractive woman to prove its point nt

[EC]

25. She's delusional. She's average at best. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

26. Meh. That ain't the problem.

Don't know what it is, but it isn't stunning looks.

[Cirque du So-What]

27. She ain't all that and a bag of fish'n'chips

Not to disparage anyone's looks, but I suspect there's more to this story than being 'too attractive'

[ZombieHorde]

30. Her claim does seem vain, but if she has been sexually harassed at work places,

then I could understand why she wouldn't want to work.

[Raine1967]

41. She is fortunate to have that choice.

After reading the Daily Mail article I lost a lot of sympathy for her.

I wish I could have quit my job and be taken care of by my parents due to harassment. My choices were:
1) Suck it up.
2) file a report and risk being a target
3) Quit and pray I could get unemployment
4) Find a new Job

More often than not it was #4 -- That meant the problem still existed. This is a strange story. I find myself not having a lot of sympathy for this woman and that perhaps is due to me not really believing this is the entire story.

[Cleita]

34. Maybe she needs to exploit her looks in modeling, acting or getting married

to a rich dude, When she gets old and replaced by younger "beauties", she has her former day job to fall back on.

However, it seems she doesn't want to work at all and go on the dole, in this case her parents supporting her. Methinks the lady dost protest too much.

Frankly, she looks a lot like me when I was her age and I never considered myself a raving beauty and frankly neither is she. I worked and sure I got hit on by males in the workplace everything from crude remarks to flowers and gifts given to me, but so did most of my female co-workers.

[Lurks Often]

38. And she's modest too! n/t

[npk]

39. I have the opposite problem at work. n.t

[malaise]

43. Damn I've wasted all my life working

I sure looked better than her

[Phillip McCleod]

44. 'don't hate me because I'm beautiful..'

..
We don't. We hate you for being conceited.

[NewJeffCT]

45. I wonder what sexual harrassment laws are like in the UK?

and how they compare to the US?

Maybe she should have gathered evidence of this culture of harrassment & jealousy, or else gone to her company's HR department? If those are options for her.

But, if she is 33 years old and has been in a male dominated field since college, you'd think it would have been an issue for her 10-12 years ago? Why bring it up now?

[Courtesy Flush]

46. Put your hair up and wear glasses.

For a PhD, she doesn't know this basic secret.

[Beacool]

47. I understand how she feels, beauty is my burden too.

I'm going to tell my boss right now that I'm too pretty for this job. Let's see how she reacts. I may not be here tomorrow.







Self entitled twit!!!

[hobbit709]

48. She's better than average attractive but she's no knockout.

Sounds more like an attitude problem.

[Lizzie Poppet]

49. Whole lotta THIS guy in this thread: