Media reports state flag prohibited due to Roman goddess’ bare breast
(MENAFN) A Texas school district has pulled a civics lesson about Virginia and its state flag after it was found to violate newly implemented rules against frontal nudity. The Virginia state flag features a seal depicting the Roman goddess Virtus, who stands over a defeated tyrant. In keeping with classical depictions, Virtus is shown with one breast exposed.
The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (CISD), located near Houston, Texas, removed the lesson from an online platform used by elementary students. The district made this decision in response to its newly adopted policy banning "visual depictions or illustrations of frontal nudity" in materials for younger students. The removal was revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Texas Freedom to Read Project.
The educational content was part of PebbleGo Next, an online resource used by schools across the country, including those in Virginia. The Virginia state flag, which has undergone several changes, originally depicted the goddess Virtus in full armor and a toga on the 1776 state seal. In 1901, the seal was redesigned to show Virtus with one breast exposed after criticisms that the previous version appeared too masculine. The final design, adopted in 1931, shows Virtus in a helmet, holding a spear and sword over the fallen tyrant, with the Latin motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" ("Thus Always to Tyrants").
The Texas Freedom to Read Project, an organization that opposes book bans and censorship, criticized the district’s removal of the flag lesson, calling the policy “vague and confusing.” The group warned that if such measures continue, historical content could be the next target.
Texas passed House Bill 900 in 2023 to keep sexually explicit content out of schools, with State Senator Angela Paxton emphasizing that children should not be exposed to material deemed inappropriate.
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