A WOMAN who was dress-coded at work is refusing to change up her look – and is telling her employer to get used to her not wearing a bra.
Claire Cochran, 20, says that when she was reprimanded after she went braless at her office job, but rather than comply, she’s calling them out for sexual harassment.
The young professional and college student revealed in a TikTok video that she was “dress coded at work for not wearing a bra.”
In another video, she mocked the accusation that she was “drawing attention to myself and distracting people by not wearing a bra” by filming herself typing at her desk.
In the clip, she wore a dark black T-shirt – and it’s impossible to tell whether or not she’s wearing a bra, begging the question: How closely was someone looking at her chest to notice?
Claire, who describes herself as a “feminist pre-law student,” responded to the dress code admonishment with a lecture of her own.
read more dress code drama
She said she emailed her employer to “confront” them about the policy.
Citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, she wrote that it is “illegal for an employer to discriminate against any individual under the protected category of sex.”
“A dress code could require women to wear bras in theory, but only if it was equally expensive or burdensome for men to do so,” she continued, quoting commentary on the judgment.
“A more modern dress code would probably say something like, ‘You have to cover the area between collarbones and knees, or the upper torso below the collarbones, and nipples may not be visible,” the quoted commentary went on.
She further argued that under the New York City Human Rights Law, “employers are barred from imposing specific dress code requirements for specific genders.”
Adding her own take, Claire told her boss: “If my chest is a distraction to coworkers or students, that is a matter of sexual harassment, not unprofessionalism.”
She continued: “I understand breasts have been sexualized, stigmatized, and converted to public property but whether I choose to wear a bra is up to my discretion.
“I will happily comply [with] requirements so long as they are expected of my male counterparts as well.”
Other TikTokers are impressed with how she’s handled the situation, applauding her in the comments.
“This was said perfectly,” wrote one.
“This is actually amazing, I’m happy you did this for yourself and everyone watching this video who will feel inspired to take action too,” wrote another.
Others called her email “iconic” and said she “slayed.”
Claire has yet to update with whether her company has changed how it handles its dress code, but did comment: “I think they may be brushing it under the rug.”
