Booby trap? Texas pretending Virginia doesn't exist, bans mentions of US state. Here's why
Trending | World | Discover why a Texas school district has banned mentions of Virginia's state flag for elementary students due to an image of the Roman goddess Virtus.
In Texas, a red state, a school district has taken the concept of modesty a bit far, banning the Virgina state flag and seal online — all because of a boob.
The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, near Houston, has banned younger students from viewing the Virginia state flag and seal online, which features an image of the Roman goddess Virtus.
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What does the Virginia state flag and seal depict?
The flag for the US state of Virginia features the Roman goddess Virtus standing over a defeated tyrant with her toga slipping down one shoulder. This effigy, as per reports, has been deemed too risqué for elementary students as in it the Roman goddess' left breast is exposed.
The district, late last year, quietly removed Virginia-related content from its digital research platform, PebbleGo Next, used by third to fifth graders (ages 8 to 11).
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As per Axios, this was done after the Texas school district decided that the image violated the district's recently adopted ban on "visual depictions or illustrations of frontal nudity" in elementary school library material.
A dystopian nightmare
The Texas Freedom to Read Project, an anti-censorship group, uncovered the removal through a public records request.
They've "unlocked a new level of dystopian, book-banning, and censorship hell in Texas," the group, which also opposes book bans in the state, said in a statement. It further pointed out that students can no longer learn basic facts about the state of Virginia.
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This isn't the first time the goddess Virtus has caused controversy or been part of debates on what exactly constitutes sexually explicit material. In 2010, then-Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli edited the seal for lapel pins to cover the breast. The original image, dating back to 1776, has an inscription "Sic Semper Tyrannis" or "Thus always to tyrants".
At the time, the tyrant was taken to symbolise British tyranny — specifically, King George III — while Virtus was taken as a warrior in the Ottoman Empire, instead of a Roman goddess. In fact, in 1901 Virginia ordered that the breast be clearly visible, to emphasise that Virtus was a woman.
(With inputs from agencies)
