Unpicking the interaction further, Lauren expressed her frustration that there’s an alignment with how a scientist, or even an intelligent, female must look.

Writing in her Twitter comments, she highlighted the huge issue of stereotyping for women working in STEM, noting: “I think it’s something we don’t talk about much on here – that people still THINK it’s a compliment to imply your appearance doesn’t align with ‘how a scientist looks’.

“The most infuriating part is this guy probably thought he was implying I looked good by that statement.”

Lauren added: “Simultaneously insulting everything I’ve worked for, scientists HE might not deem conventionally attractive, and hardworking people who might not be academic, but could trump me and him in other ways.”

Lauren later updated her followers with Mikey’s response to her message, revealing that he opted for the classic “don’t take yourself so seriously” approach to criticism. Ugh. One positive thing that’s come from this exchange, though, is that Lauren’s tweet caught the attention of Hinge who have publicly condemned the behaviour.

Addressing Lauren in a tweet, a Hinge representative noted: “Yikes. Hinge has a zero tolerance policy for behavior like this. We’re on it. And while we’re at it, your next Hinge date is on us.”

Former NASA intern expertly shuts down Hinge match who asked whether she was the receptionist