Letitia Chai, a senior student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, took off her clothes during her presentation, which was filmed on Facebook live, to stand up against “oppressive beliefs and discrimination”.
Ms Chai organised the protest after her teacher allegedly questioned her choice of clothing during a test run of her thesis presentation and told her: “Your shorts are too short”.
Describing the incident in a Facebook post, Chai wrote: “She proceeded to tell me in front of my whole class that I was inviting the male gaze away from the content of my presentation and onto my body.”
Ms Chai said that some students in the class were also surprised by the teacher’s comment but one international student agreed with the teacher and told her she had “a moral obligation to dress more conservatively” in respect for her audience.
“Needless to say, I was shook,” Ms Chai wrote.
After she left the classroom, her teacher came out to talk to her and according to Ms Chai, she asked her what her mother would think of her outfit.
“What would my mom think? My mom is a feminist, gender, sexuality studies professor. She has dedicated her life to the empowerment of people in all gender identities. So, I think my mother would [be] fine with my shorts,” she wrote.
When asked what she was going to do, Ms Chai replied: “I’m going to give the best damn speech of my life.”
Writing on Facebook, Ms Chai invited others to support her on the day of her actual presentation and asked people to “strip down” to their underwear with her during her 15-minute address.
The event was filmed on Facebook Live as Ms Chai removed her clothes and some of the students in the room joined her in support.
The teacher involved told local media: “I do not tell my students what to wear, nor do I define for them what constitutes appropriate dress. I ask them to reflect for themselves and make their own decisions.”
Following the incident, 11 of the 13 other students in the class issued a statement saying they “supported Ms Chai’s commitment to the cause of women’s rights” but did not agree with her recollection of the events.
“All of us feel that out professor’s words and actions were unfairly represented in the post, with certain quotes taken out of context and we wish to clarify any misunderstandings that may have occurred,” they said.
“In an environment like Cornell, where it is so easy to feel dismissed by both your peers and higher-ups, she is unparalleled in her support of us,” the statement read.