A few more details on the Tamara Hoover controversy, the Austin, TX high school art teacher that was suspended when some nude photos of her were found online...

The new information only boils my blood further. First of all, I've been to the flickr.com site that featured the nude photos, and while it appears that the nudes have been removed for the time being, there is enough information in those photos to be able to discern that there is no way that the photos in question were at all pornographic. The photos are all artistically done, and there are quite a few absolutely gorgeous ones.

The other point is that apparently Ms. Hoover is a lesbian, and that the photos were taken by her girlfriend (live-in girlfriend at that, I understand). Which brings the homophobic angle into the discussion as much as the "human bodies are dirty" angle. Would there be such an uproar if she were straight, and the photos had been taken by her boyfriend or husband? Maybe, maybe not.

I ask again: why the fuck are we not talking about the teacher that brought these photos to the administration with the intent of getting Ms. Hoover fired? I'd much rather let Ms. Hoover teach my (admittedly ficticious) son or daughter.

As for the "the photos are a distraction from learning" comments being left on some of the blogs, what a crock. Let's get right to the point, shall we? If that's a distraction, then attractive female teachers are a distraction to any red-blooded male student. Can them all, I tell you!

Maybe, just maybe, an awake libido in a high school student isn't really a "distraction". That's particularly true when the subject at hand is art (though my gripe would be no less vehement if Ms. Hoover were a math teacher), which all but requires an understanding of beauty and what we consider erotic.

There's a great post over at Punk Ass Blog: You've got boobs under there?! Exactly.