Earlier this week, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Tim Hunt made shockingly sexist remarks about female scientists at a conference in Seoul.
“Let me tell you about my trouble with girls,” he reportedly said. “You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry!”
Hunt subsequently resigned from his position as a Royal Society Fellow at University College London over the comments, telling the BBC that he "did mean" what he said, but that he was "really sorry".
Scientists were less than impressed by his comments, many sarcastically tweeting photos with the hashtag #DistractinglySexy.
Filthy #archaeology women--so #distractinglysexy while head-first down a Neolithic grave.
Sarah Tuttle, an astrophysicist from Texas, was among those who took to Twitter to express their anger over Hunt's comments.
Dear Tim Hunt, We knew what you meant, actually. Your honesty is welcome. Do you know what we honestly think?
She said that it was Hunt, rather than women, who has "no place in science", thanks to his "draconian" and "backwards" attitudes.
We honestly think that you have no place in science. We honestly think that your attitudes are backwards, draconian, and inappropriate.
Genitalia, she said, have nothing to do with a person's ability to be a scientist.
We think that belittling other people isn't how science gets done. We think that genitalia has SURPRISINGLY little to do with our work
She also noted that attitudes like Hunt's create a huge problem for women who want to be successful scientists.
We fight EVERY FUCKING DAY to inhabit the space we were born to inhabit. We spend EVERY DAY convincing others and ourselves.
The day we get to JUST DO SCIENCE is a fucking godsend and basically the rarest of prizes.
She openly expressed the extent of her anger, saying that she was not "going to adorable my way into justifying my existence".
My tone is not kind. It has been kind for decades. I am old, I am pissed, and I'm not going to adorable my way into justifying my existence.
MY TONE IS EXACTLY AS FUCKING PISSED AS I AM.
Tuttle highlighted how difficult it can be for a woman to have her voice heard in the scientific community...
Number of times a day I find my words ignored because apparently it is too confusing those words come from me: Uncountable.
...despite the fact that women often hold just as much power as men.
Number of times a day I have to hold someone's dick so they can pee because they have power over me and I hate the splash: UNCOUNTABLE.
She highlighted the impact of Hunt's attitude on younger generations.
You are a motherfucking impediment to my existence. You make it so I have to explain to my children that "Mommy is a scientist".
Tuttle has made it clear that she will not be silenced.
These are my stomping boots. I do not plan on taking them off. I expect to be buried in them. I feel pretty good about that.
LET'S DEMONSTRATE TO SOCIETY HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY.
She concludes that everybody, regardless of "the shape of your body, the color of your skin, your pronouns", should have their voice heard in science.
The shape of your body, the color of your skin, your pronouns - They make you you, but they don't detract from the weight of your words.
"In science, we've seen that people who are less well represented succeed and are supported with cohorts of similar scientists," Tuttle told BuzzFeed News. "People like Tim Hunt think they are the norm, but they are increasingly the exception."
She said Twitter was an excellent platform for raising her voice because it allowed her to speak outside of the science community.
"With Twitter, our cohort can be the world," she said. "It helps us get a toehold and intervene before lives are ruined. People reach out to get a wider net of support."
Tuttle said the response to her comments had generally been heartening, despite "a few people who menaced me for trying to 'ruin a man's life', but that is clearly not my intent".
"We defend power because we hope some day it will be ours."
Read the Storify of Sarah Tuttle's Tim Hunt tweets here.