Angel Locsin sparks conversation about women’s burden to wear bras during earthquakes and emergencies

Some Filipino netizens are now calling for the normalization of seeing braless women during emergencies. 

Angel Locsin sparked the conversation after she shared her relatable experience when an earthquake was felt in different parts of the country. State seismologists said the epicenter of the 5.7 magnitude quake was in Occidental Mindoro and was recorded at 1:12 a.m. of Sept. 27.

The situation involved an essential that most women can’t step out of the house without: a bra.

In a separate tweet, the actress recalled how she thought of her dog, emergency bag, and other things that could protect herself and others from COVID-19 when the earthquake occurred. “Lente yung bra ko pa!” she added, concluding her tweet with a confused emoji. 

While most women shared how they related to her tweets and even picked up an idea to include a bra in their go bags, some of them took the chance to point out that the sight of braless women during emergencies should not be a big deal anymore.

A netizen emphasized the matter as the struggle of almost every woman in cases like this.

“What if that crucial moment decides life or death?” another one questioned.

The sentiment harks back to the Free The Nipple campaign, which is geared toward the equality, empowerment, and freedom of all. It was started in 2012 by Lina Esco, who produced a film that revolves around women who sparked “a movement to remove the censor of women’s breasts all over America.” 

“If it becomes legal to show your nipples in public, do you honestly think all women are going to run around topless? ‘Free the nipple’ is simply about having the choice,” Esco clarified in her TIME piece.