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After misgendering a student, a Virginia teacher has been fired from his job teaching French at West Point High School.
The teacher, Peter Vlaming, is now suing the school district, claiming that his freedom of speech has been infringed upon following his dismissal. The school has declined to comment to publications, as the matter concerns pending litigation.
Vlaming allegedly refused to use a male student’s correct pronouns, insisting that he would use the student’s chosen name but not use any pronouns at all. After being told numerous times by his superiors to use the student’s correct pronouns, Vlaming was dismissed for insubordination.
“Mr. Vlaming’s conscience and religious practice prohibits him from intentionally lying, and he sincerely believes that referring to a female as a male by using an objectively male pronoun is telling a lie,” Vlaming’s lawsuit argues. Of course, transgender people are not lying, the student is not female, and Vlaming’s assertions are reductive and harmful.
According to reports, Vlaming misgendered the student during a virtual reality exercise during class. At one point, the student in question was moving towards a digital wall in the simulation and Vlaming exclaimed “don’t let her hit the wall!” After all the other students had left after class, the student approached Vlaming to explain how he felt.
“Mr. Vlaming, you may have your religion,” the student told him, “but you need to respect who I am!” While Vlaming asserts that it was a slip of the tongue, the school board found his argument unconvincing. According to the board, they felt as though Vlaming’s conduct could contribute to a hostile learning environment.
Following his dismissal, Vlaming has sued the school for a combined $1,000,000, alleging they violated his contract, discriminated against him based on his religion and violated his first amendment rights. At the time of this writing, the suit is in its early stages.
On the topic of pronouns, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s LGBT resource center has this to say:
“It is a privilege to not have to worry about which pronoun someone is going to use for you based on how they perceive your gender. If you have this privilege, yet fail to respect someone else’s gender identity, it is not only disrespectful and hurtful, but it is also oppressive.”
