A high school teacher in an Ontario, Canada suburb will be allowed to continue wearing large prosthetic breasts to Oakville Trafalgar High School, where the transgender male to female teaches shop class. The large plastic breasts have nipples that protrude through the man teacher’s thin shirts, and have brought the school district unwanted international attention.
The Halton District School Board conducted a review of a proposed dress code at the request of concerned citizens and has determined that implementing any dress code would bring legal problems to the district.
“While the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has acknowledged the ability of an employer to establish dress and grooming standards for the purposes of professional business, and health and safety reasons, the Tribunal has likewise acknowledged that an employer cannot establish standards which, in their application or administration, result in differential treatment on the basis of a protected ground,” Superintendent Sari Taha and Director of Education Curtis Ennis wrote. They said a dress code could be interpreted as discriminatory.
“The Board has requested that the Director of Education provide information on the potential implications which may arise from a decision to implement a staff dress code. It is clear from the above analysis that the implementation of a formal staff dress code or grooming standards would likely expose the board to considerable liability.”
“Similarly, it is important to recognize the impact that dress code policies can have on members of the transgender community,” the administrators wrote, indicating that there is some separate community for transgenders that others don’t have membership in. “Most notably, it is important for employers to make allowances to ensure that these employees are able to express themselves in accordance with their lived gender.”
The teacher’s choice of provocative clothing came to light only after students started posting pictures of the teacher on social media. Those photos went viral on Twitter.
