Let’s Get Personal: Why I Can No Longer Support the Bra Bee

By LindsieMarch 25, 202512 Comments

I’ve been involved in The International Bra Sewing Bee (formerly the Great Bra Sewing Bee) since its inception in 2020. Back then, the idea had so much promise: An annual event where sewists could come together to make pretty things, up their skills, and make connections.

But that promise has, unfortunately, faded. And I’m really bummed about it, but I can no longer support the Bra Bee in good faith.

A few experiences have led me to this decision: seeing the Bee’s money-grabbing ethos, including under-compensating contributors, and the owner’s animus toward social justice.

Problems with Teacher Pay

The straw that broke the camel’s back is the recent allegations that Bra Bee owner Sue has not been appropriately compensating the instructors upon whose labor her company was built. Specifically, while Sue paid instructors for their initial contributions, several instructors allege the Bee has not correctly paid them contractually-obligated ongoing commissions for sales made for the vault and extended access. I’ve seen a bunch of the evidence with my own eyes.

But it’s not just these compensation problems that convicted me to withdraw support. It goes back further than that.

Animus Toward Social Justice

In 2021, when I consulted with the Bee team on how to handle potential crisis communication, it became clear that one type of “crisis” the Bee worried about were so-called “social justice warriors” (their words) pointing out instances of microaggressions. Although their word choice at the time felt off, I chose to take this as a teaching opportunity, and steer the team toward helping people learn to recognize their privilege and apologize swiftly. I naively thought that, perhaps, they were concerned about these instances in good faith. (As an aside, I did not receive compensation for this consulting.)

But these concerns were reiterated last year, when I worked with the Bee team to organize an advanced bramaking panel. During a private conversation with Sue, she told me that trans people aren’t welcome in the Hive because she believes they would make it unsafe for women. She also complained about hating “social justice warriors” (including using air quotes). I knew in this moment that the Bee was not something I could support again.

I considered pulling out from the panel. I even texted a friend on March 10 last year, “I just don’t trust her. I’m pretty sure I’m just going to pull out of that panel and will maybe make some sort of public statement. Not anything specific, just something like ‘my values don’t align with those of the Bee.'” A few days later, I decided to go ahead with the panel since I had already committed and recruited other panel members, texting my friend again, “I think I’m going to do the Bra Bee roundtable and then be done with it. … I feel like I already put in the hard work part of prep and may as well get [paid].”

A Values Mismatch

My concerns last year also grew when a group of bra sewists, including myself, were asked to test the Hive, the Bee’s new platform. They called us “founding members” and asked us to create content on the Hive ahead of the Bee, so that when paid members joined, it wouldn’t be a totally empty forum. I stupidly presumed founding members would receive some kind of perk — free registration, or at least a discount. But, after a couple meetings between the Bee team and founding members, it became clear that we were engaged in uncompensated labor. While the Bee team did eventually clarify that we could “earn” ongoing membership, this wasn’t given as compensation for testing the platform, but was instead subject to several ongoing conditions, such as whether we “inspire others,” “encourage[d] others to try new things,” and “coach[ed]” other members.

Let me be clear: I’m not blaming the Bee team for my choice to contribute without clear compensation agreements in place. My assumption that compensation would be provided for consulting or testing was my mistake.

But I do think the lack of compensation also demonstrates a values misalignment: While I believe in providing fair compensation for traditionally femme and creative labor, this is clearly not a priority for the Bee team. Over the past five years, I’ve increasingly felt that the Bee was being built on the backs of others. Teachers’ experiences with compensation irregularities made public this week back up that feeling.

Add to this their track record on social justice issues — issues at the core of Sew Busty’s values — I just cannot continue to sit by while I watch someone take advantage of the sewing community that I love.

I want to be clear that I’m not here to tell you, my community, what your values are, who you should support, or how you should spend your money. But I do want to be clear about my values, what I support, and provide you with transparency and facts to inform your decision.

PS: This should not dissuade folks from supporting Bra Builders. Bra Builders is now owned by Nikki Griffin, who is a gem, and Sue is no longer involved.