‘Kids Should Have a Safe Environment’: Students, Others Join Protest of Ontario Teacher Wearing Large Prosthetic Breasts to Class

Protesters stand outside of Oakville Trafalgar High School, demonstrating against a teacher wearing large prosthetic breasts in class, on Sept. 23, 2022. The Epoch Times/Peter Wilson

Students from the Toronto-area Oakville Trafalgar High School (OTHS) and local residents joined a protest on Sept. 23 against an OTHS teacher wearing large prosthetic breasts to class.

The Epoch Times spoke to a number of demonstrators and students at the protest, who all expressed concern about the Halton District School Board’s (HDSB) decision to defend the teacher’s actions.

“Kids should have a safe environment to learn free of ridiculous distractions,” said Dave Kvesic, a South Burlington, Ont., father of three children who all attend HDSB schools.

Kvesic said the protest was not about “transphobia” or being “anti-gay” but that it was “just about my kids.”

“And I’m advocating for all kids,” he said.

A local mother and her child protest outside Oakville Trafalgar High School on Sept. 23. against a teacher wearing large prosthetic breasts to class. The Epoch Times/Peter Wilson

The Toronto Sun reported on Sept. 17 that the teacher is transgender and identified as a male before transitioning. The teacher now identifies as a woman and goes by a female name.

Videos and pictures of the teacher wearing large prosthetics in class first surfaced on Twitter in mid-September and gained international attention almost immediately.

HDSB chair Margo Shuttleworth told The Epoch Times on Sept. 19 that the board supports the teacher “as prescribed by the Ontario Charter of Human Rights,” and the HDSB communications department said in an email that the board “is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe, caring, inclusive, equitable and welcoming learning and working environment for all students and staff.”

Student Reaction

In a Sept. 17 article, the Toronto Sun reported that Shuttleworth said the teacher is “extremely effective” and that “all the kids really love being in the class.”

At the protest, several OTHS students said this is not the case. The students requested their last names be withheld for privacy.

“The teacher’s creeping me out,” said a Grade 9 student named Aziz. “It’s getting weirder every time I see her... it does not feel right.”

Another ninth-grader named Roman said, “As students in the school, we can confirm that all the students don’t love her.”

“Every time someone sees her, we just kind of feel uncomfortable,” he said.

Sachin, also a Grade 9 student, said he’s “pretty weirded out” by the situation and called it “disturbing.”

“The whole world knows about the teacher now. It’s crazy,” he said.

Jay Dacosta, a local resident attending the protest, said he was there because he wanted to support the OTHS students.

“We need to back them up. They’re looking towards the adults because there’s a problem here, otherwise, all these videos wouldn’t have been [posted] online,” he said.

“There’s certainly something really wrong about this,” he added. “And I think us, as adults, it’s our job to stand up and to protest about it. This is not normal.”

Dacosta said he once saw the teacher while driving through Oakville and was so taken aback that he almost crashed his car.

“It was enough for me to be completely distracted and almost crash my car,” he said. “How would it be to learn anything from this person?”

Chantelle Larochelle, a Burlington, Ont., mother at the protest, said there’s a double standard at OTHS between how students and the teacher are expected to dress for school.

Chantelle Larochelle, a Burlington, Ont., mother, said the OTHS is inconsistent with what it allows teachers and students to wear. The Epoch Times/Peter Wilson

“Girls aren’t allowed to go to prom wearing certain clothes ...  they’re not allowed to wear skirts and shorts that don’t reach a certain point on their leg because it’s inappropriate and distracting,” Larochelle said.

“So how is this teacher allowed to come to school with her nipples hanging out and breasts as big as anybody has seen,” she added.

A second protest against the teacher’s actions was held on Sept. 25 outside of M.M. Robinson High School in Burlington, which included the presence of Maxime Bernier, leader of the federal People’s Party of Canada. Bernier said in a Twitter post the same day that he called for the Oakville teacher’s dismissal at the rally.

‘Big Voting Issue’

Kvesic said in the past he hasn’t paid much attention to school board trustee elections, but that he will start now because of this issue.

“I haven’t spoken to one parent that thinks this is okay,” he said. “And it will absolutely impact the trustee elections, provided that people are made aware, and there’s transparency around the vote.”

Kvesic said he also wants the HDSB to make public which trustees voted to allow the teacher into class while wearing the prosthetics.

“What I want, honestly, is just transparency about who voted which way on that board, so that during the election people can be informed and have the transparency of what people’s true views are,” he added.

Another local resident at the Sept. 23 protest named Paul, who declined to provide his last name, also said he’s also going to start voting in trustee elections because of how the HSDB has handled the situation.

“It’s a big voting issue,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re Liberal, Conservative, whatever the case may be, but I think this is an issue that most Canadians can plant a flag on and take a stand on.”

“Teachers are supposed to be here to enrich students’ lives and teach them how to read and write, teach them about history, whatever the case may be,” he added. “Not about this, and not about bringing their sexuality to the schoolroom.”