Meanwhile in Michigan: Substitute Teacher Fired For Using the Word "Vagina"

Take it away, WWMT:

A West Michigan substitute teacher says she was fired for using an anatomical word during a teaching lesson. The Battle Creek substitute teacher was fired on Friday, and says she had no clue saying the word "vagina" would cost her her job. If you ask Allison Wint why she was fired from Harper Creek Middle School, she will tell you it's because she uttered the word "vagina." "Yes, I did say that word however I was saying it in the context of art history; I wasn't being vulgar," she said.

The substitute art teacher claims she said it to a room full of 8th graders trying to explain historical interpretations of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings. But to school officials, Wint crossed the line—and violated school policy. Support The Stranger More than ever, we depend on your support to help fund our coverage. Support local, independent media with a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you!

I don't know how you could avoid using the "vagina" or "vaginal" in a discussion of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings—unless you went with the more accurate "vulvar" or the more colloquial and Battle-Creek-friendly "hoo-haa-esque."

School administrators insists they had to no choice but to fire Wint because teachers at Harper Creek Middle School "are required to get advanced approval when discussing any form of reproductive health." Wint says she wasn't aware of this idiotic policy—she also wasn't discussing reproductive health. She was discussing an artist and sharing the most common interpretation of O'Keefe's iconic paintings of flowers. (This isn't the first time a Michigan woman has been punished for uttering the word "vagina" in front of bunch of children.)