The Canadian high school teacher who made headlines for wearing massive Z-cup prosthetic breasts in class has been placed on paid leave,...
The Canadian high school teacher who made headlines for wearing massive Z-cup prosthetic breasts in class has been placed on paid leave, according to a Wednesday report from The Toronto Sun.
A recent report from The New York Post published photographs of a person the outlet claimed was educator Kayla Lemieux walking around outside school hours dressed down in jeans and a vest while not wearing the prosthetic breasts or blonde wig. Lemieux claimed the photos were of someone else.
Now, Lemieux has been put on paid leave. “While not currently on an active assignment, the teacher remains employed with the (Halton District School Board),” spokesperson Heather Francey told The Toronto Sun.
Parents have protested to the school board ever since news of the controversy first broke, with one mother named Lynn saying, “forms of identity and expression presented in the school environment [must] be scrutinized against the child’s safeguarding practices.”
A neighbor also told the Post that Lemieux doesn’t wear the breasts all the time. “He wears prosthetic breasts extremely infrequently,” the neighbor said. “He puts the breasts on to teach, occasionally when he goes for a walk or when the cops visit.”
The Post also published an interview with Lemieux in which the teacher claimed to wear the prosthetics all the time and accused neighbors of lying.
Lemieux also said the breasts were “real” and not prosthetics at all.
“This is who I am. This is how I look. You’ve been talking to people in my building but what they’re telling you is harsh and untrue. I am always going out looking the way I am,” Lemieux said, noting to be “in transition,” not “a transgendered person” but rather “intersex.” The educator claims the oversized breasts are the result of an extremely rare medical condition called “gigantomastia,” which affects about 300 people worldwide.
“I don’t think there’s any problem with how I have dressed. It’s the personal opinion of other people. I don’t think I have dressed unprofessionally,” the Canadian teacher said.
The school board originally defended their employee’s choice of clothing, which included tight-fitting shirts that prominently displayed the oversized breasts.
“We are aware of discussion on social media and in the media regarding Oakville Trafalgar High School,” a note to parents said after Lemieux first started making headlines in September 2022.
“We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to our community that we are committed to establishing and maintaining a safe, caring, inclusive, equitable and welcoming learning and working environment for all students and staff.”
They further defended Lemieux’s right to “gender expression.”
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