# Can a teacher go topless? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 17, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042 "2006-06-17T07:06:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/121 "2006-06-27T00:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=Unregistered Bull] Actually, it seems that many people here seem to believe that sanction is impossible for nudity, including nude bondage shots and direct shots of genitalia because it’s “art.” [/QUOTE] No. We seem to believe that you’ve offered no evidence that these pictures were for sexual gratification of the teacher, given the long tradition of artists’ models not getting turned on by their work. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/122 "2006-06-27T00:21:46Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] I still haven’t seen the pictures. Like all things with this level of controversy, they have disappeared with the alacrity of a drop of mercury on a mountaintop once the controversy explodes. [/QUOTE] Google had them cached under the Save Manny blog url, looks like the cache has changed.. And on a different note, isn’t Texas an “At Will” state with regards to employment? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/123 "2006-06-27T00:27:01Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] And on a different note, isn’t Texas an “At Will” state with regards to employment? [/QUOTE] Doesn’t matter if there was an employment contract. “At Will” applies to situations where there is no contract or union involved. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/124 "2006-06-27T00:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] Doesn’t matter if there was an employment contract. “At Will” applies to situations where there is no contract or union involved. [/QUOTE] OK, thanks. I wondered about the teacher’s union, but wasn’t sure. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/125 "2006-06-27T01:22:28Z")
My unreserved apologies to Unregistered Bull, for some reason I was thinking we were in the pit. I’d report myself, only I’ve just discovered something interesting: there’s no “report bad post” button for your own posts. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/126 "2006-06-27T12:15:42Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] No. We seem to believe that you’ve offered no evidence that these pictures were for sexual gratification of the teacher, given the long tradition of artists’ models not getting turned on by their work. Daniel [/QUOTE] So, if this lady had acted in a hardcore pornographic film for European market, distributed it publically, and the film became common knowledge amongst school officials, then since she didn’t receive any sexual gratification, she wouldn’t get in trouble? ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/127 "2006-06-27T12:21:48Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] Really stretching to call the pictures that were linked earlier in this thread “bondage shots”. Some of them were mildly suggestive of D/s themes, but nothing remotely close to extreme. Calling any of those pictures “genitalia shots” is outright fabrication. I remember one shot, mostly composed of shadows, that featured a nude woman from approximately her navel to mid-thigh. Don’t think it was visually apparrent whether she chooses to shave her pubes or not. Definitely didn’t see any _Hustler_ style spreadeagle shots. [/QUOTE] LOL. Handcuffed hands, dog collars, nudity, arms stretched above her head, a feigned look of fear. That’s a bondage shot partner. Since the direct shots of her genital area were in shadows, I’ll let you get by with your argument. I picked it up from another poster here anyway. But arguing against the bondage aspect is just, well it’s just plain silly. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/128 "2006-06-27T13:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=Unregistered Bull] LOL. Handcuffed hands, dog collars, nudity, arms stretched above her head, a feigned look of fear. That’s a bondage shot partner. Since the direct shots of her genital area were in shadows, I’ll let you get by with your argument. I picked it up from another poster here anyway. But arguing against the bondage aspect is just, well it’s just plain silly. [/QUOTE] But is the intent pornographic? PETA activists have appeared in public caged, naked and in chains in order to draw attention to the plight of some zoo animals and elephants in Asia. It looks awfully bondage-y but I doubt if many people would argue that it’s bondage porn. That’s kinda the way I feel about the photos. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/129 "2006-06-27T17:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=Unregistered Bull] So, if this lady had acted in a hardcore pornographic film for European market, distributed it publically, and the film became common knowledge amongst school officials, then since she didn’t receive any sexual gratification, she wouldn’t get in trouble? [/QUOTE] Why don’t you answer that question for yourself: do YOU believe the quoted section of the contract would apply to that situation? There is an objectively correct answer to the question, based on the quoted section of the contract. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/130 "2006-06-27T18:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] My unreserved apologies to Unregistered Bull, for some reason I was thinking we were in the pit. I’d report myself, only I’ve just discovered something interesting: there’s no “report bad post” button for your own posts. [/QUOTE] **Moderator’s Note:** Well, be more careful of which forum you’re in and don’t do it again. As for the SDMB management, all I did was make the URL not be a live link. You can still copy and paste it into a new browser. (That the pictures may not even still be on that web page is obviously a whole different issue.) FWIW, I would say this policy is more akin to saying “you can’t post those [artistic nude] pictures of yourself _in the classroom_” than saying “you can’t post those [artistic nude] pictures of yourself _anywhere on the Internet_” (without being fired). ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/131 "2006-06-27T18:59:19Z")
Incidentally, this topic has been around for over a week, and it occurs to me that the title is wrong. Obviously teachers _can_ go topless; the question is: _May_ a teacher go topless? But I guess she’s a math teacher not a grammar teacher, so we’ll let it pass this time. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/132 "2006-06-27T19:20:51Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] But I guess she’s a math teacher not a grammar teacher, so we’ll let it pass this time. [/QUOTE] Actually, she’s an art teacher, not a math teacher. But you’re a moderator, not Cecil Adams, so we’ll let it pass this time ;). Daniel ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/133 "2006-06-27T19:30:07Z")
Math, art–not English. She not English teacher! She teacher of Not-English! Why the hell did I think she was a math teacher? _:Shakes fist at Gaudere:_ ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/134 "2006-06-27T22:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] Incidentally, this topic has been around for over a week, and it occurs to me that the title is wrong. Obviously teachers _can_ go topless; the question is: _May_ a teacher go topless? But I guess she’s a math teacher not a grammar teacher, so we’ll let it pass this time. [/QUOTE] Well, I did consider alternatives, such as: 1. Tell ol’payroll, “Let my Titties Go” 2. TEXAS…has an Artist in it (Lord have mercy on our soul) 3. Hey, Teacher, thanks for the mammaries 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/135 "2006-06-28T00:15:53Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] 1. Tell ol’payroll, “Let my Titties Go” [/QUOTE] Oh, wow. That had me rollin’. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/136 "2006-06-28T03:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] My unreserved apologies to Unregistered Bull, for some reason I was thinking we were in the pit. I’d report myself, only I’ve just discovered something interesting: there’s no “report bad post” button for your own posts. [/QUOTE] This has come up before. They management has suggested reporting the post above yours and mentioning what you are reporting in the body of the email. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/137 "2006-06-28T14:26:33Z")
Transcript of radio show interview from June 20 : [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13459493/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13459493/) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/138 "2006-06-28T19:59:48Z")
[QUOTE=Ponster] Transcript of radio show interview from June 20 : [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13459493/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13459493/) [/QUOTE] Harrumph. Think this thread contains a much higher level of discourse than that transcript. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042/139 "2006-06-28T23:23:47Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] Why the hell did I think she was a math teacher? [/QUOTE] Same reason I thought I was in the pit 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-teacher-go-topless/361042.md?page=6)