I get job-shamed for my ‘unprofessional’ and inappropriate outfits as a scientist – but it won’t stop me
A SCIENTIST who wrestles crocodiles and deadly beasts on a daily basis has hit back at cruel trolls slamming her “unprofessional” bikini shots.
Rosie Moore, 27, says she faces inappropriate behaviour at work – but it won’t stop her pursuing her dream and wants to inspire young girls to get into science.
She told The Sun: “It’s really interesting to see how polarising just my image is.
“Some people think it’s the coolest thing ever that I model and do science, but then there are other people that have the nastiest things to say.
“They comment things like ‘I would be embarrassed to work with you’ and think it’s ‘extremely unprofessional’.
The 27-year-old doesn’t only have to deal with the online critics as she claims sexism also swarms the work pace.
Rosie said: “Sexual harassment is pretty common within the industry.
“In my first job as a crocodile researcher we had a supervisor who was so bad with the girls.”
She said she once worked with a male staff member who would send creepy voice messages telling her to “sleep tight”.
Rosie believes discrimination is “definitely a power dynamic thing” – but that there will be a “rollover” and she thinks “it will get better”.
And the fearless scientist doesn’t let sexism faze her.
She is used to dealing with dangerous predators including huge 12ft pythons and hungry alligators.
She has even been “chased off the nest by crocodiles” before and says in her line of work “they really just kind of throw you in the field and you just learn as you go”.
Although Rosie “wouldn’t change her job for anything” as she “loves working with wildlife” and meets the “most incredible people”, there are less exciting elements of her job.
“The worst part of the job is the mosquitoes and late nights,” she said.
“The mosquitoes in the everglades are absolutely brutal, there can be swarms of thousands of mosquitoes on you.
“I’ve come home before and my whole entire face has swollen up. It looked like I had some kind of disease.”
Rosie studied for seven years to get the qualifications she needed to work in the industry and always had her sights set on a career involving animals.
Her job title is a spacial ecologist – which means she goes out and collects data from animals and their habitats, and also euthanizes predators if they become pests.
“I’ve always wanted to be a scientist, I remember when I was at the beach with my dad as a kid I used to collect all the jellyfish and bring them home,” she said.
“I made them buy me a microscope cause I wanted to see what they looked like under the microscope.”
The biologist thinks young girls shy away from a job in science as “scientists are nerdy and unattractive” and wants to break that mould.
She said: “I think when you make being a scientist cool and show that it’s ok to be super adventurous and outdoorsy and still be a normal girl It’s important to see.”
“You don’t have to be weird and undesirable to be a scientist you can have it all.”
