Student protests being told to wear a bra

American student Kaitlyn Juvik has staged a protest after being told to wear a bra to school. Photo / Facebook

A high school student in the US was mortified after she was called into the principal's office and told she needed to wear a bra to school.

Teenager Kaitlyn Juvik, who is in her final year at a high school in Montana, was told her lack of lingerie was making people uncomfortable.

According to American news outlet KRTV, the principal said she hadn't technically broken any school rules, but that her lack of underwear was a problem.

But Juvik says what she was wearing was appropriate for school, and that her body shouldn't be deemed as offensive.

The teenager has started a Facebook page called No Bra No Problem, which has already attracted over 1800 likes.

The page has drawn a range of comments, with people both for and against the student's plight.

"This is the underlying logic for body shaming, victim blaming, and objectifying women. I am so impressed that there was a protest. Amazing work women!" wrote one commenter.

"Go for it Kaitlyn... you are an example for many others!" said another.

Although other's weren't convinced, with one commenter calling her "immature", and another saying not wearing a bra was "indecent".

"As long as nothing is showing and you're covered up, girls should not have to wear a bra," Juvik told MTN News.

"The fact that I was told it makes people uncomfortable offended me because it's my body... It is my natural body and I'm not sure why that is uncomfortable to somebody."

Other students agree, and spoke out at a lunchtime protest at the school, where some male students turned up wearing bras to illustrate the double standards between the sexes.

Despite divided opinions on the issue, Juvik's mum agrees with her daughter.

"Our daughters are body shamed and sexualized on a daily basis. We need to teach them to be comfortable in their own skin and not feel like they have to hide under their clothes," she wrote on a Facebook post.

"The schools have bigger fish to fry than worrying about whether or not my daughter is wearing a bra!"

Meanwhile, school principal Steve Thennis didn't want to get into a discussion about underwear.

"We are going to ask them to dress appropriately and if we feel it is inappropriate, male or female, we are going to ask them to cover up," he told KRTV.

-nzherald.co.nz