Alas, first the word was shunned in Congress, and now a Michigan teacher has been fired for saying “vagina.” Daniel Bethencourt with Detroit Free Press reports:
Allison Wint, who had been teaching art at Harper Creek Middle School since January, says she was speaking about a broader topic of controversy in art when she held up reproductions of paintings by Georgia O’Keefe, some of which have been seen as erotic.
Wint used the word “vagina” in an art history lesson about Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. While doing so she let her students know, “vagina” is a part of a female’s anatomy and not a dirty word.
“Being afraid of the word … creates an aura of shame around the body part," Wint said.
The Michigan Legislature in 2012 didn’t like the word either and at one time a legislator was blocked from speaking — after using it.
In June 2012, State Rep. Lisa Brown, voting against the abortion regulations, told supporters of a bill at the time: "I'm flattered you're all so interested in my vagina. But no means no," referencing the proposal. She was silenced from speaking about any issues for the rest of the final day of that legislative session.
Brown Tweeted about the incident Tuesday, asking her followers whether it sounded familiar.
According to Wint, the only other time she has ever been “disciplined” by the school was when she hung a sign behind her desk, made by one of her students, that read, “Marriage is about love, not gender.”
According to WWMT, Wint says even so, she is still in disbelief she was dismissed.
"I honestly had no words, because I've always been an advocate of not censoring art and music and writing," she said.
After clearing out her classroom and packing all her artwork into her car, Wint says losing her students hurts more than losing her job and she will not fight her termination.
"I harbor no ill will against them," she said.
Wint was a longtime substitute, placed at Harper Creek through an outside agency.
She says she now plans to look for work somewhere else.
Sounds like a teacher I’d like to have my kids learn from … and yes, I’m ending the sentence with a preposition. Because sometimes rules need to be broken.