A waitress at a restaurant in Canada says she was told by her female manager to wear a bra at work which constitutes ‘a violation of my rights as a person to dictate my undergarments.’
Genevieve Loiselle wrote a post on Facebook detailing the incident, which took place at East Side Mario’s in Timmins, Ontario, a small town about 440 miles north of Toronto.
‘When I arrived to work tonight I was called into my manager’s office,’ Loiselle wrote on her Facebook page.
‘She firmly stated that I must start wearing a bra to work.
‘As a feminist I made a personal choice not to wear one. She replied that it was part of my uniform.’
Genevieve Loiselle, a waitress at a restaurant in Canada, says she was told by her female manager to wear a bra at work which constitutes ‘a violation of my rights as a person to dictate my undergarments.’
Loiselle wrote a post on Facebook detailing the incident, which took place at East Side Mario’s in Timmins, Ontario, a small town about 440 miles north of Toronto
Loiselle said that when she asked to see the restaurant’s uniform policy, there was no mention of brassieres.
‘As if you would impose servers to wear a thong. No you can’t do that, it’s undergarments,’ she said.
‘I just felt judged from the start.’
She said that her boss would then report her to the human relations office.
‘When I arrived to work tonight I was called into my manager’s office,’ Loiselle wrote on her Facebook page last week. ‘She firmly stated that I must start wearing a bra to work’
‘As a feminist I made a personal choice not to wear one. She replied that it was part of my uniform’
Loiselle said that when she asked to see the restaurant’s uniform policy, there was no mention of brassieres
‘As if you would impose servers to wear a thong. No you can’t do that, it’s undergarments,’ she said to her boss
Loiselle describes herself as ‘smaller-chested’ and hence she felt more comfortable not wearing a bra
‘I can clearly see your nipples and that they are pierced,’ Loiselle says her boss told her.
‘I felt judged, harassed, and ashamed,’ she wrote.
‘I asked her if she would force a man to wear a bra if he had “breasts” and she said no, it was not the same thing.’
‘People don’t look at women’s bodies the same way they look at men’s bodies,’ Loiselle says her boss told her.
Loiselle describes herself as ‘smaller-chested’ and hence she felt more comfortable not wearing a bra, according to CBC.
Loiselle says that she doesn’t feel ‘comfortable’ about her job security after the matter was referred to the restaurant’s corporate offices. The East Side Mario’s in Timmins, Ontario is seen in the above stock image
‘I’m not prancing my breasts around,’ she said.
‘I understand if I had a see-through shirt, but my shirt’s black and it’s all the way up to my neck.’
She said that the day after the incident, the manager walked back her demand that she wear a bra.
The issue is now being handled by management, though Loiselle said that she doesn’t feel as secure in her job since going public with her story.
‘I really don’t feel that comfortable here,’ she said.
The restaurant is closed for two weeks for renovations.
In June, a British barmaid claimed that she was fired from her job because she turned up for work without a bra.
Kate Hannah, 22, posted a furious rant on Facebook, accompanied by a picture of the grey, crew neck t-shirt that she says was deemed unacceptable by her boss.
She said that she wore the t-shirt to Bird and Beer in Beverley, East Yorkshire, after her manager’s brother allegedly made an inappropriate remark to her.
There were even calls for her to take legal action after she shared her side of the story on social media.