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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLondon woman Laura Fernee says she's 'too attractive' to work
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 Ive made the decision that employment just isnt for me at the moment. It's not my fault...I cant 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
(19,339 posts)It's her asshole co-workers who should have been warned, reprimanded, and then fired if their harassment continued.
cali
(114,904 posts)I suspect her personality and arrogance has more to do with her problems than anything else.
pnwmom
(109,031 posts)and engineering world.
Personally, she comes across as a jerk, but she's talking about a real problem.
Dash87
(3,220 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)"Who are you gonna believe--me or your lyin' eyes?"
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)I'm too sexy to hold a job, too sexy to not be a snob
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Well played.
DUzy nominee, I think.
eissa
(4,238 posts)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
(109,031 posts)of sexual harassment - more than in many other professions.
eissa
(4,238 posts)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
(146,364 posts)That's my take on it.
TlalocW
(15,396 posts)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
(50,566 posts)Please stop it; we can only take so much.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)I stand corrected.
Marr
(20,317 posts)Do you work out?
Mopar151
(10,019 posts)" They're just jealous of my naturally curly hair!"
TlalocW
(15,396 posts)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
(82,383 posts)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
(28,498 posts)...I've got some ugly she could borrow.
loli phabay
(5,580 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)BainsBane
(53,137 posts)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
(13,184 posts)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
(53,137 posts)particularly when it comes to women.
pnwmom
(109,031 posts)and the science and engineering fields are full of it.
siligut
(12,272 posts)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
(53,137 posts)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
(12,272 posts)And yes, trivializing concerns that are not their own is RW SOP.
BeyondGeography
(39,406 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)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.
Response to The Straight Story (Original post)
CJCRANE This message was self-deleted by its author.
R B Garr
(17,026 posts)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
(67,544 posts)EC
(12,287 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Don't know what it is, but it isn't stunning looks.
Cirque du So-What
(26,060 posts)Not to disparage anyone's looks, but I suspect there's more to this story than being 'too attractive'
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)then I could understand why she wouldn't want to work.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)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
(75,480 posts)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
(5,455 posts)npk
(3,660 posts)malaise
(269,503 posts)I sure looked better than her
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..
We don't. We hate you for being conceited.
NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)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
(4,558 posts)For a PhD, she doesn't know this basic secret.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)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
(41,694 posts)Sounds more like an attitude problem.
Lizzie Poppet
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