Discrimination Lawsuit For Being Too Sexy

(Boston, Massachusetts) There may be a link between Spring Break and lawsuits against universities. Last week, assistant professor Nathalie Doucet filed suit against the University of Cincinnati claiming that she lost her job because she was "too French." This week, a jury will hear arguments in librarian Desiree Goodwin's lawsuit against Harvard University claiming she wasn't promoted because she was "too sexy."


Desiree GoodwinGoodwin is a familiar name since she has been complaining, with the media reporting, for at least a couple years. My take on her lawsuit is that she seems to have a disagreeable personality and promoting her would probably cause friction. Sexy or not, Goodwin doesn't appear to display the personal skills necessary for a job with more responsibility and authority. With a history of continuously complaining about her job and running to the newspaper to whine, management would seem to have ample reason to decide against promoting her.

As for the contention that Goodwin is "too sexy," I've seen several pictures and I think she looks frumpy.

[Update - 04/05/05] Well, too bad for Miss Too Sexy. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination dismissed her claims of discrimination after a federal jury deliberated for four hours. They found no evidence of discrimination.

Even though she lost in court, Goodwin said she is grateful that extensive media coverage of her case shined a spotlight on the issue of employment discrimination.

I would disagree. The media shined the light on her, yes, but not employment discrimination per se. Unwittingly, Goodwin made sure that false claims of employment discrimination got all the attention.

With her perennial whining and running to the media, along with filing formal complaints without adequate basis, Goodwin is stacking negatives on her resume which surely will be considered by future bosses and employers. Already it's been suggested that she's stacked enough.