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Woman Doesn’t Wear A Bra At Work Despite Her Coworkers Complaining, Asks If She’s Being A Jerk

Woman Doesn’t Wear A Bra At Work Despite Her Coworkers Complaining, Asks If She’s Being A Jerk

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A new job brings a lot of uncertainty. After all, we encounter new people, a new environment and a new set of responsibilities. There’s a lot to do to set yourself up for success. But before Reddit user throwawayAITA92848 had the chance to get organized and meet the team, she got herself into a tricky situation.

You see, throwawayAITA92848 doesn’t wear bras. She doesn’t like them. The woman didn’t wear one for her last job and she didn’t put one on for her first days at the new office as well. However, throwawayAITA92848 has already received negative comments from her colleagues and now she doesn’t know what to do. So she turned to Reddit, asking “[Am I the jerk] for not wearing a bra to work?” and described the entire ordeal, hoping people would give her useful advice. Here’s what she wrote.

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: throwawayAITA92848

The woman chose this particular company because it made a really good impression on her. “I only got a job offer from two companies, and this one offered way more money for a software engineering job than I expected, so I took it,” throwawayAITA92848 told Bored Panda.

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She also said that her male colleagues wear mostly t-shirts and shirts with jeans and pants. “My female colleagues dress casually but you can say that women working on my project are more conservative than others.”

Tan France, a British-Pakistani-American fashion designer, television personality, and author, said that business casual doesn’t necessarily mean casual. “What it actually means is that you don’t have to wear a suit and tie,” he explained. “Business casual workwear usually includes a collared shirt (button-up or polo shirt) or sweater on top, with slacks, khakis, chinos, or a pencil skirt on the bottom. You may also wish to add a blazer or sport coat, but you don’t necessarily need a custom-tailored suit jacket. Shoes should be closed-toe and professional, whether you choose boots, heels, flats, loafers, mules, or oxfords. Business casual is a good way to dress if you’re unsure of what kind of environment you’re walking into since it falls somewhere between business professional and casual.”

A casual office dress code is even less restrictive than business casual, but Tan France highlighted that doesn’t mean people should dress as casually as you would outside of work. “This type of work attire is common in creative industries and on casual Fridays at more formal workplaces. To maintain a professional look while wearing casual clothing, look for button-downs, blouses, and T-shirts in solid colors and dark-wash or black denim free from rips and holes. Although clean sneakers may be okay, stick to closed-toe shoes, and always avoid flip-flops,” he said.

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If someone is not sure which level is most appropriate for their work environment, Sylvie di Giusto, founder of Executive Image Consulting, told Business Insider that the basic rule of thumb is “the more you deal with a client’s money, the more traditional and conservative you should be dressed.”

In general, that means that people in finance, law, and accounting, for instance, should stick to traditional business attire, and those in creative industries, like entertainment and advertising, can dress more flexibly within the casual levels.

If it were to boil down to throwawayAITA92848 having to make a decision between her job and wearing a bra, however, she said she would go with the former. “I would choose my job, obviously, I need to survive.”

Here’s what people think of the situation

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Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Read less »
Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Read less »

Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Lis Daglish
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If something is obvious enough for so many people to be able to even tell you’re not wearing a bra....how would they know?.....then there is something amiss with your attire. Completely against the unnecessary sexualisation of the female body (or men’s for that matter) or clothes censorship btw but something is clearly making others uncomfortable enough to notice, and flag.

deanna woods
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am probably going to get downvoted for this, but I believe that in this case, she is in the wrong for refusing to wear a bra. If people are approaching her about it, then it must be noticeable that she isn't wearing a bra. I don't like wearing a bra either, but I know that in the workplace I have to wear one in order to keep down problems.

Karin Jansen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But isn't that sad though? The fact that you have to wear one to keep down problems just because others have decided that even the shape of a boob through layers and layers of clothes is uncomfortable? I get it! But I wish we'd have this discussion more and ask ourselves if standards need to change. In the 70s it was considered way more normal not to wear one.

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tuzdayschild
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sorry. Could someone please explain to me how her bra is anyone's business but her own.

Xan A. Du
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

@tuzdayschild I totally agree with you if she was in her own space or on her own time, but she is in a public space, on the clock and there have been complaints. It's etiquette. Lets say you don't like wearing clothes at home. Good for you if that's your choice. Move that into a public space and you have others to consider.

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Lis Daglish
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If something is obvious enough for so many people to be able to even tell you’re not wearing a bra....how would they know?.....then there is something amiss with your attire. Completely against the unnecessary sexualisation of the female body (or men’s for that matter) or clothes censorship btw but something is clearly making others uncomfortable enough to notice, and flag.

deanna woods
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am probably going to get downvoted for this, but I believe that in this case, she is in the wrong for refusing to wear a bra. If people are approaching her about it, then it must be noticeable that she isn't wearing a bra. I don't like wearing a bra either, but I know that in the workplace I have to wear one in order to keep down problems.

Karin Jansen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But isn't that sad though? The fact that you have to wear one to keep down problems just because others have decided that even the shape of a boob through layers and layers of clothes is uncomfortable? I get it! But I wish we'd have this discussion more and ask ourselves if standards need to change. In the 70s it was considered way more normal not to wear one.

Load More Replies...
tuzdayschild
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sorry. Could someone please explain to me how her bra is anyone's business but her own.

Xan A. Du
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

@tuzdayschild I totally agree with you if she was in her own space or on her own time, but she is in a public space, on the clock and there have been complaints. It's etiquette. Lets say you don't like wearing clothes at home. Good for you if that's your choice. Move that into a public space and you have others to consider.

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