Teen stages protest after being told to cover herself with band-aids when she did not wear bra to school

Lizzy Martinez was pulled out of class for not wearing a bra
Alexandra Richards17 April 2018

A schoolgirl in Florida has urged her classmates to join her in a protest after she was forced to cover herself with band-aids when she did not wear a bra to school.

Lizzy Martinez,17, staged the protest at Braden River High School in Bradenton, Florida on Monday and invited other schools across America to join in.

A poster for the event dubbed “Bracott” read: “Girls: Don’t wear a bra and clip one on to your back pack, Boys: Put band aids over your nipples on top of shirts."

Ms Martinez was pulled out of class on April 2 for wearing a loose fitting grey Calvin Klein t-shirt with no bra.

She was then asked to shake her body to prove she was not wearing any undergarments.

“The teacher called the office and said it was distracting to herself and boys in the class,” Ms Martinez said.

“I was appalled at first and looked at her, and said ‘You’re joking, right?’”

Ms Martinez said she was asked whether or not she was wearing undergarments and taken to the clinic and given band aids to cover herself up.

She said she was left “sobbing” after the ordeal.

Ms Martinez pointed out that there was no rule in the school dress code which stated that she must wear a bra to school.

She said she had contacted the school who said that compulsorily bras would be added to the dress code when it was next updated.

But she plans to continue to not wear a bra to protest the unfair policy.

She explained: “I did my research and it’s completely illegal.

“You can’t make girl students abide by a dress code that boys don’t have to abide by.

“So if the policy for next year is the need to wear a bra – I’d like to see boys in my class with jock straps and bras on as well.”

On Monday, the school issued a message to students urging them not to participate in protests or school walk outs.

It said: “In the interest of preserving instructional time we are emphatically stating that additional disruptions to instructional time or the normal operations of our schools are in violation of the code of student conduct.”

The message also said that violations to the school dress code would not be tolerated.

The Standard has contacted Braden River High School for further comment.

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