I suppose we should first establish whether paraphilias are a philosophical issue. I don’t really believe they are. It is also a matter of science and its ethics, since paraphilias (and sexual violence) are overwhelmingly a male phenomenon. People used to know that, and I don’t mean just the professionals - it was common knowledge, even if some young women have always been quite naive about the darker side of male sexuality. (older women, not so much, which is why they are most vociferously attacked and marginalised). And we used to know human brains don’t mature untiil we are in mid-twenties, but all of it has gone out of the window. So IMO iit’s about morality. I’m not religious but I certainly consider imposing your fetish on others in public immoral. I used to believe decline of religion was unequivocally a good thing, but now I’m not so sure.
It could be awkward and discomfiting for both boy and girl adolescents (especially girls developing larger breasts), at a minimum it would be a distraction from school learning.
I am certain that if any woman went into a school looking like that, she would, behind the scenes, be told to cover up or would otherwise be prevented from teaching.
But if you play dress up as a woman with visible nipples, it's fine.
It is a caricature of the female form, a performance by a man in an authority position over young girls who now know that this is how that man sees women.
There is no way in hell that this is a constructive environment to work in.
The school is effectively enabling a fetishist to act out their fantasies, under the gaze of children. There is no reasonable justification for this, either morally or in practical terms - i.e. it contravenes the principals of safeguarding, and is a distraction to learning.
IMO it is not difficult to make counter-arguments to this behaviour, especially on psychological and pragmatic grounds. However, perhaps it seems a complex to Peter because there is no one single objection, but multiple ones, some of which build on others. For example:
- Argument 1: sex aside, breasts this size (real or fake) are clearly hugely uncommon, and so their presence in a classroom is a distraction to teaching, in the same way that wearing an excessively large hat, or outlandish fancy dress, would be.
- Argument 2: sex cannot be put aside, however, since, like it or not, most humans view breasts as having erotic association and erect nipples are well known as a function of sexual arousal. It is therefore unrealistic to expect students not to view this as a sexual act of some kind. This is again a distraction.
- Argument 3: this is especially the case during children's puberty, when changing physiology makes children much more concerned with issues relating to understanding their own bodies, and those of their peers. The teacher's performance will raise many questions in children's minds about the social desirability of physical features. (E.g. one can easily imagine a teenage girl seeing this and thinking that 'bigger is better' when it comes to breasts, and hence becoming even more insecure.) This is, at best, again a distraction from teaching, and at worst, potentially damaging to children's psycho-sexual health.
Now, arguments 1 & 2 could, conceivably be deployed against a female teacher with natural large breasts. And indeed, if a woman were teaching without a bra and with clearly visible nipples, headteachers *should* pull her up on this, IMO, for the same reasons. However, the fact that the man concerned has *voluntarily* chosen this form makes argument 3 more significant, and also leads to argument 4:
- Argument 4: the fact that the teacher doesn't understand arguments 1, 2 & 3, or sees them as of lesser importance than his own desires, must necessarily call into question his fitness as a teacher. He has demonstrated by his actions that he has very little understanding of child psychology, and/or little regard for their learning.
The only thing which *might* conceivably count as a defence against some of the above is:
- Counter-argument 5: the teacher *is* acting in the long-term interests of the children, and *is not* distracting from their teaching because this is a one-off performance intended to be part of their education. This might, at a stretch, be the case if the teacher were, say, a biology or sociology teacher wanting to start a debate about the nature of sexuality and sexual stereotypes; or maybe an arts teacher wanting to stimulate a discussion about the nature of performance; or a philosophy teacher wanting to stimulate the kind of discussion we are having on this substack. In those cases, arguments 1 & 2 may conceivably have less force (and, by extension, 4 also), but I would still be very concerned that 3 still holds. And, as far as has been reported, the teacher concerned does not seem to be acting in any of these roles.
Fake breasts on a man by any definition should not be in school room , at the very least it's a distraction from learning, at worst it's involving children in an adult sexual fetish and what message does it send to teenage girls ?
Dressing as a woman is one thing. Displaying one's very large nipples so prominently in front of teenage boys is quite another.
1. A female teacher would be advised to wear a bra in that situation, so why shouldn't he be asked the same?
2. The fact that he would need to be asked to do that suggests either:
i) he lacks the necessary sense of what is appropriate in front of children; or
ii) he knows full well it's not appropriate and is enjoying doing it.
In either case, it suggests he is not a suitable person to put in charge of children.
(And before anyone suggests that I've "misgendered" anyone, I employ the established usage of pronouns - to refer to a person's sex, rather than their self-identified gender.)
The principal, school board, parents, etc are uneducated about paraphilias. They are instead indoctrinated with myths and misinformation about transgenderism. This behaviour is not protected by HR leg in Ontario. HR law says trans ppl cannot be discriminated against for being trans. It does not specify what that means. What constitutes discrimination is determined by tribunals and courts on a case-by-case basis. Claiming a “gender identity” does not exempt an individual from respecting the human rights of other identifiable groups, codes of conduct or criminal law. No woman naturally has breasts like this. He is older and I presume he developed this abnormal faux breast fixation back in the day when it was common in the sex industry to see abused women who’d been coerced into mutilating themselves with extreme body modifications for male entertainment. These breasts are not part of his body nor do they simulate the natural appearance of the female form. “Sex” is protected in Ontarios HR law alongside gender identity. This is akin to having hostile racial imagery in the classroom but arguably worse as he is personally performing it. The school board would not tolerate him dressing up as a caricature of any other protected group without repercussions. It is especially problematic in that the source of inspiration is an industry that has exponentially escalated sexual coercion, degradation, harassment and assaults of female students. The teacher is compounding an already hostile situation in schools. The school board speaks of “inclusivity” and “diversity” yet allows a teacher to create a hostile environment towards female students in what is already a male-dominated course. It is also sexual harassment as he is indulging a paraphilia with the discomfort of others being part of that paraphilia. A psychiatrist could easily attest to this being paraphilic as described in the DSM. Criminal law could also come into play in a variety of ways after an investigation of the workplace and a psychiatric evaluation of this individual. It goes on and on.
Perhaps he is looking for a legal battle. If he is not trying to instigate conflict then he is demonstrating problematic behaviour and judgement indicative of mental illness. Any adult or child is fully aware of how dressing like this causes a response in the streets let alone a workplace with children. Seeking such a response is demonstrative of his psychiatric instability. This is very Dana Rivers.
Children should not be exposed to mentally deranged adults. Wearing a pair of parody-sized breasts, unless you're a comedian, is mentally deranged. Therefore, this person should not be teaching children.
I would like to know Boghossian's feelings on a female teacher wearing an enormous prosthetic penis in her pants, pressing so tightly against them so that you can see individual veins. Would this be fine also?
I think this person needs to decide whether they are wearing a face mask or not. With this baby step dealt with, we could then possibly look at appropriate bust support.
I suppose we should first establish whether paraphilias are a philosophical issue. I don’t really believe they are. It is also a matter of science and its ethics, since paraphilias (and sexual violence) are overwhelmingly a male phenomenon. People used to know that, and I don’t mean just the professionals - it was common knowledge, even if some young women have always been quite naive about the darker side of male sexuality. (older women, not so much, which is why they are most vociferously attacked and marginalised). And we used to know human brains don’t mature untiil we are in mid-twenties, but all of it has gone out of the window. So IMO iit’s about morality. I’m not religious but I certainly consider imposing your fetish on others in public immoral. I used to believe decline of religion was unequivocally a good thing, but now I’m not so sure.
It could be awkward and discomfiting for both boy and girl adolescents (especially girls developing larger breasts), at a minimum it would be a distraction from school learning.
I am certain that if any woman went into a school looking like that, she would, behind the scenes, be told to cover up or would otherwise be prevented from teaching.
But if you play dress up as a woman with visible nipples, it's fine.
It is a caricature of the female form, a performance by a man in an authority position over young girls who now know that this is how that man sees women.
There is no way in hell that this is a constructive environment to work in.
The school is effectively enabling a fetishist to act out their fantasies, under the gaze of children. There is no reasonable justification for this, either morally or in practical terms - i.e. it contravenes the principals of safeguarding, and is a distraction to learning.
IMO it is not difficult to make counter-arguments to this behaviour, especially on psychological and pragmatic grounds. However, perhaps it seems a complex to Peter because there is no one single objection, but multiple ones, some of which build on others. For example:
- Argument 1: sex aside, breasts this size (real or fake) are clearly hugely uncommon, and so their presence in a classroom is a distraction to teaching, in the same way that wearing an excessively large hat, or outlandish fancy dress, would be.
- Argument 2: sex cannot be put aside, however, since, like it or not, most humans view breasts as having erotic association and erect nipples are well known as a function of sexual arousal. It is therefore unrealistic to expect students not to view this as a sexual act of some kind. This is again a distraction.
- Argument 3: this is especially the case during children's puberty, when changing physiology makes children much more concerned with issues relating to understanding their own bodies, and those of their peers. The teacher's performance will raise many questions in children's minds about the social desirability of physical features. (E.g. one can easily imagine a teenage girl seeing this and thinking that 'bigger is better' when it comes to breasts, and hence becoming even more insecure.) This is, at best, again a distraction from teaching, and at worst, potentially damaging to children's psycho-sexual health.
Now, arguments 1 & 2 could, conceivably be deployed against a female teacher with natural large breasts. And indeed, if a woman were teaching without a bra and with clearly visible nipples, headteachers *should* pull her up on this, IMO, for the same reasons. However, the fact that the man concerned has *voluntarily* chosen this form makes argument 3 more significant, and also leads to argument 4:
- Argument 4: the fact that the teacher doesn't understand arguments 1, 2 & 3, or sees them as of lesser importance than his own desires, must necessarily call into question his fitness as a teacher. He has demonstrated by his actions that he has very little understanding of child psychology, and/or little regard for their learning.
The only thing which *might* conceivably count as a defence against some of the above is:
- Counter-argument 5: the teacher *is* acting in the long-term interests of the children, and *is not* distracting from their teaching because this is a one-off performance intended to be part of their education. This might, at a stretch, be the case if the teacher were, say, a biology or sociology teacher wanting to start a debate about the nature of sexuality and sexual stereotypes; or maybe an arts teacher wanting to stimulate a discussion about the nature of performance; or a philosophy teacher wanting to stimulate the kind of discussion we are having on this substack. In those cases, arguments 1 & 2 may conceivably have less force (and, by extension, 4 also), but I would still be very concerned that 3 still holds. And, as far as has been reported, the teacher concerned does not seem to be acting in any of these roles.
Fake breasts on a man by any definition should not be in school room , at the very least it's a distraction from learning, at worst it's involving children in an adult sexual fetish and what message does it send to teenage girls ?
Dressing as a woman is one thing. Displaying one's very large nipples so prominently in front of teenage boys is quite another.
1. A female teacher would be advised to wear a bra in that situation, so why shouldn't he be asked the same?
2. The fact that he would need to be asked to do that suggests either:
i) he lacks the necessary sense of what is appropriate in front of children; or
ii) he knows full well it's not appropriate and is enjoying doing it.
In either case, it suggests he is not a suitable person to put in charge of children.
(And before anyone suggests that I've "misgendered" anyone, I employ the established usage of pronouns - to refer to a person's sex, rather than their self-identified gender.)
The principal, school board, parents, etc are uneducated about paraphilias. They are instead indoctrinated with myths and misinformation about transgenderism. This behaviour is not protected by HR leg in Ontario. HR law says trans ppl cannot be discriminated against for being trans. It does not specify what that means. What constitutes discrimination is determined by tribunals and courts on a case-by-case basis. Claiming a “gender identity” does not exempt an individual from respecting the human rights of other identifiable groups, codes of conduct or criminal law. No woman naturally has breasts like this. He is older and I presume he developed this abnormal faux breast fixation back in the day when it was common in the sex industry to see abused women who’d been coerced into mutilating themselves with extreme body modifications for male entertainment. These breasts are not part of his body nor do they simulate the natural appearance of the female form. “Sex” is protected in Ontarios HR law alongside gender identity. This is akin to having hostile racial imagery in the classroom but arguably worse as he is personally performing it. The school board would not tolerate him dressing up as a caricature of any other protected group without repercussions. It is especially problematic in that the source of inspiration is an industry that has exponentially escalated sexual coercion, degradation, harassment and assaults of female students. The teacher is compounding an already hostile situation in schools. The school board speaks of “inclusivity” and “diversity” yet allows a teacher to create a hostile environment towards female students in what is already a male-dominated course. It is also sexual harassment as he is indulging a paraphilia with the discomfort of others being part of that paraphilia. A psychiatrist could easily attest to this being paraphilic as described in the DSM. Criminal law could also come into play in a variety of ways after an investigation of the workplace and a psychiatric evaluation of this individual. It goes on and on.
Perhaps he is looking for a legal battle. If he is not trying to instigate conflict then he is demonstrating problematic behaviour and judgement indicative of mental illness. Any adult or child is fully aware of how dressing like this causes a response in the streets let alone a workplace with children. Seeking such a response is demonstrative of his psychiatric instability. This is very Dana Rivers.
Children should not be exposed to mentally deranged adults. Wearing a pair of parody-sized breasts, unless you're a comedian, is mentally deranged. Therefore, this person should not be teaching children.
I would like to know Boghossian's feelings on a female teacher wearing an enormous prosthetic penis in her pants, pressing so tightly against them so that you can see individual veins. Would this be fine also?
I think this person needs to decide whether they are wearing a face mask or not. With this baby step dealt with, we could then possibly look at appropriate bust support.