A “glam” 18-year-old tradie who wears fake nails on the job says she gets trolled by men despite her ability on-site.
A glamorous plasterer who does construction work while wearing long fake nails has claimed blokes make “sexist” jokes about her because seeing her do a so-called man’s job “hurts their egos”.
Hannah Uddin, from Coventry in the UK, admits that she’s been branded “attention seeking” for pursuing a job in construction and has even faced lads telling her she’s “taking up space” on her construction course, The Sun reports.
After the 18-year-old shared footage of herself plastering walls wearing her acrylic nails on TikTok, she split opinion as some branded her a “girl boss” while others questioned why she went to work wearing make-up.
But the criticism has not deterred the construction student, who says it encourages her to “keep going” – even though people thought she was in the wrong class at first or told her the qualification would be a “waste of time” for her.
Hannah says that she was inspired to get into construction by her dad, who would take her to work on building sites from the age of 12.
Since taking up a construction course at college she has been supported by her family and teacher, and the self-admitted “girly girl” is hoping to inspire other women to consider a career in the construction industry.
Hannah said: “Just because I wear make-up and have long nails, that doesn‘t stop me from doing what I like. That was the point of the video.
“The way I see it – if I look good, I feel good, then I‘ll be able to work good.
“I‘ve been getting nails like this since I was 13, so it’s normal to me now. I can work away with nails.
“I have broken a nail before whilst carrying plaster bags, but it doesn‘t upset me or anything. It’s only happened to me once though.”
The video tries to address questions that are often put to her and quickly amassed more than one million views, but also received several critical comments.
Hannah said: “Since the video, I‘ve had a few direct messages on Instagram and TikTok from people asking me how I got into construction.
“I did not expect the video to get so many views. It was a big surprise.
“The majority of the comments were nice and positive, so it gave me a boost to carry on. And it was nice to see that other girls wanted to get into construction after seeing that you can.
“I did have a few supportive comments on the video hyping me up and calling me a ‘girl boss’. They were saying how I was proving stereotypes wrong.
“There were quite a few negative comments on the TikTok video too. I think they were all from men.
“They were just saying that I was getting more plaster on myself than the wall, that it was impossible to do the work with nails. They were also asking why I was doing work with a full face of make-up.
“I think a lot of these comments stem from a stereotypical view. Many men do this job, and for some of them, it‘s not normal to see a woman doing it.
“I think it does hurt their ego a bit as well.
“Negative comments won‘t stop me being who I am, it pushes me even more. I’m still going to go to work with my make-up and nails done.”
It’s not just on TikTok that Hannah has faced sexist comments, as she has received some negative remarks since opting to take a construction course.
Hannah said: “When I was applying to the course, I was speaking to a male teacher about it. He had to ask a few times, before moving on, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? Is anybody forcing you to do this?’.
“Certain people find it hard to believe that a girly girl would want to look into something like this, because it is a male-dominated job, and it is a bit difficult, I‘m not going to lie.
“I‘m the only girl in my whole department. When I went to the class on my first day, the boys all said ’You’re in the wrong class’.
“Everyone questioned me and I had a few people make sexist jokes about it.
“The teacher on my course has helped me a lot as well, as he’s shut down boys in the class when they’d make comments. He supports me.
“The boys in my class would tell me I’m not doing it right, that the course was a waste of my time, that I was taking up somebody’s space in the class.
“It’s really shocking that in 2022 people still think like that.
“Outside the class, I’ve had a few girls call me attention seeking. When you go into a trade like this, you hear a few remarks.
“I had one girl text my mate saying that I’m doing a guy’s job and I should let the guys do it. My friend showed me the messages.
“It kind of makes me happy though, because I‘m proving them wrong and making them look silly. It doesn’t really affect me, because at the end of the day, I’m doing what I like and I’m happy with it.”
Hannah mainly credits her interest in building to her dad, who is a plasterer, bricklayer and interior designer.
Further down the line, Hannah wants to put her skills to work and flip houses for sale.
Hannah said: “I want to get into real estate. I want to buy and sell houses in a smart way. Rather than spend money on builders, plumbers and electricians, I‘d rather learn it all myself.
“If it’s something you like to do, it’s more like a hobby than a job. I love the physical side of the work, and I like the effort put into it.
“To do plastering takes a lot of energy. But just like how some people go to the gym and find it therapeutic, I find construction therapeutic.
“If I’m not feeling well or if I’m not okay, then I’ll find something to build. I’m working on a shed in the garden, and I’ll work on that in my free time.
“I see a lot of women in construction on TikTok. There are women getting into it, so hopefully it’ll be the new normal and people will stop judging and criticising.
“It’s not just with construction, it’s all male-dominated jobs. Hopefully it’ll become the new normal, it just takes time I guess.”
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as ‘Glam’ tradie who wears fake nails on the job says she gets trolled by men
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