The battle around dress codes in schools is still going strong. There's the issue of girls' clothes not covering enough skin, but now the problem is what lies underneath their clothes...or lack thereof. It really does seem that girls are getting called out for how they dress while the boys get to carry on with their days no matter what they're wearing.
A teenager recently faced some backlash for how she was dressed. This time she had the support of almost all her peers to show that maybe the focus shouldn't be on how people are dressed but on their education and chance for self-expression.
Eighteen-year-old Kaitlyn Juvik was sitting in class like she would any regular school day.
So she wasn't expecting to be called down to the vice principal's office when she did. According to the vice principal, a male teacher had complained he was “uncomfortable” because she wasn’t wearing a bra.
She was wearing nipple stickers, but typically doesn’t wear a bra ever.
The stickers provide coverage, without the horrible feeling of wearing a full bra.
In fact, she hasn’t worn a bra in about a year.
Honestly, this sounds pretty amazing.
This is the shirt Kaitlyn was wearing when she was sent to the office.
Full-sleeved, covered-up, ready to study.
"When I left the office, I was so upset that I posted a picture of what I was wearing on Facebook, telling everyone:
'If any of you are curious, this is the shirt I was wearing when I was called out.' I most definitely wasn't wearing anything against the dress code."
Principal Steve Thennis said he won’t check someone’s undergarments but does ask they dress appropriately...
...“and if we feel it is inappropriate, male or female, we are going to ask them to cover up.”
Kaitlyn isn't the only one who was outraged at the request to cover up.
One of her friends, Brooke Lanier, created a Facebook page called “No Bra, No Problem” in support.
"The problem here should not have been Kaitlyn's attire, but the morality of the male teacher," said Brooke.
In addition, 300 females from the high school went braless.
"As generations have progressed and women can now wear pants, I hope our movement will help our generation progress to equal treatment of male and female breasts and further gender equality in general."
Even some of the male students wore bras in protest.
Seventeen-year-old Samuel Tinsley says he feels administration was falsely dress coding her and that telling her to cover up was an "inappropriate and immature" request.
"When I heard they were trying to impose on Kaitlyn's self expression, it really irritated me," said Samuel.
"By making her change or go home to put on appropriate clothing, they're basically saying that a boy's education is more important than hers."
In fact, Kaitlyn wasn't even going against the school handbook...
Nowhere in the high school handbook does it say that students are not allowed to go braless.
“The fact that I was told it makes people uncomfortable offended me because it’s my body," said Kaitlyn. “It's my natural body and I’m not sure why that is uncomfortable to somebody.”
“Boys always get the excuse about their hormones, that ‘boys will be boys.'
“But instead, perhaps people should start teaching boys not to sexualize women’s bodies. Wearing a bra is a personal choice. It’s my body. Why is it anybody else’s business whether I’m wearing a bra, especially when I’m covered up and dressed appropriately?”
Kaitlyn has since graduated and went braless under her gown.
She will be attending cosmetology school in Spokane, Washington and continues to speak out as the “Braless Warrior.”
"I feel suffocated wearing a bra. So anybody who has a problem with that should just look the other way and get over it."
Spoken like a boss-in-the-making.
Do you think it was fair to ask Kaitlyn to cover up?
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