This braless 18-year-old from Montana is an inspiration to women everywhere

Last spring, Montana high school student Kaitlyn Juvik was called into her vice principal’s office on the claim she violated the school’s dress code by not wearing a bra underneath her clothing.

Let that sink in. A high school girl was called out by an adult male teacher and an adult administration because she decided, for what had been going on for the larger part of a year, that she did not want to wear a bra.

There are a lot of things wrong with this story. First off, Kaitlyn, who was wearing a loose black t-shirt with nipple pads, was called out by a grown, professional male teacher who could not handle teaching a class to a teenage girl not wearing a bra. If she was only wearing bra to school sans shirt, then fine. But she was literally wearing a black t-shirt. Not even a tight t-shirt. Not even a cropped tee shirt. A loose fit, black t-shirt.

There are people who have said this girl doesn’t have the right to go braless. The right. As if wearing a bra is law. As if the female anatomy is so revolting that a woman not wearing a bra is means to grab the pitch forks and burn her at the stake. What year are we in?

But that isn’t even the worst part of it. The worst part of this story, was the backlash she received by grown adults saying boys in her school deserved a “distraction-free learning environment.” One writer even went as far to say “If Mama Juvik really wanted to help her daughter, she would provide her with some simple guidance on how women’s breasts are a beautiful thing—so beautiful, in fact, that they can be distracting to boys.” I’m sorry, but excuse me?

Essentially, this writer is saying “girls have to wear bras so they don’t make teenage boys and grown men uncomfortable.” As if these boys see Kaitlyn for more than .5 seconds of their measly days. If you’ve ever worn a bra, you know how uncomfortable they can be. And if you’ve never worn a bra, then who are you to offer insight on the subject?

I can not wear a bra with straps for more than an hour without getting the most searing back pain, and I can’t wear strapless bras without it falling off every thirty seconds. This, to me, is a massive distraction, that causes me actual physical immobility. So to the people who see a braless teenager as a distraction, that are here to say my and Kaitlyn’s comfort isn’t as important as a boys who can literally just avert their eyes, shame on you.

@kamijthomas