Under pressure from Ontario’s education minister, the school board has ordered staff to develop a dress code that meets “professional standards.” “I believe our fundamental position is that staff must meet the highest standards when they are in front of children,” Minister Stephen Lecce said in December.
Several parents and students claimed that Lemieux was not complying. Her giant prosthetics with prominent nipples “they mocked women and educational experiences”, they stated in the complaints. Others worried that the prostheses could pose a safety hazard at work.
illustration video
After images of Lemieux first appeared online last September, the trans woman quickly became the target of radical critics. In November, two bomb threats appeared at her school.
“We planted several bombs all over the school and we will not stand idly by as this awakened ideology destroys all of Western society.” says the threatening e-mail, according to the Toronto Sun.
The right-wing TV station “Rebel Media” also focused on the trans woman. Presenter and activist David Menzies attended a school board meeting dressed as a woman with huge breasts. He called on the members to resign before being thrown out of the hall by the police.
Divided opinions at school
The school’s board of supervisors endorsed a trans woman in September. “Kayla Lemieux is a very good teacher,” said Chairwoman Margo Shuttleworth. The Toronto Sun was doing a student poll at the time. Student Owen said: “I’m fine with that. I know some of my friends are a bit uncomfortable. But I think Ms. Lemieux should express herself however she wants.”
One mother spoke of Kayla Lemieux in the masculine gender: “He goes a little too far. It’s okay to stand up for yourself. But wearing something like that in class…I have reservations.’
