The Canadian high school teacher who wears size z prosthetic breasts, stated that they are not fake, and rejected being the individual recently photographed leaving home without them.
"These are real," Kayla Lemieux said to The Post during an exclusive interview on Saturday.
Lemieux was known for wearing female garments and having blonde hair and a very ample chest. She has publicly stated that her body is not that of a transgender individual, but she is an intersex person by birth.
"My condition is classified as gigantomastia, which can also be referred to as macromastia or breast hypertrophy," Lemieux stated while in a Toronto Cafe.
Its rare, theres no doubt about it. It affects women on a very rare basis, but in my case, I believe and my doctor thinks because I have XX chromosomes as well, that has something to do with it, and hormone sensitivity to estrogen has caused it.
When asked for proof, Lemieux, who spoke softly and in a high-pitched voice with a distinctly Canadian accent, stated that she'd never been given an official diagnosis.
Lemieux rejected the claim that they were the person that The Post snapped a picture of last week, who had been seen exiting their apartment and walking on the footpath shortly thereafter.
Lemieux insisted I cant tell you who that is because I dont want to bring anyone else into this. I dont want that person being thrown all over the media, but it wasnt me. This is who I am. This is how I look. Youve been talking to people in my building but what theyre telling you is harsh and untrue. I am always going out looking the way I am.
When asked if she could alter her look, she stated that she could take off her wig and remove her makeup, but her breasts would still be visible.
Lemieux has caused worldwide controversy after photos and videos were on the internet last year, just following her start as a shop instructor for Ontario's Oakville Trafalgar High School in September.
The school has recently been subjected to frequent gun and bomb threats and threats of violence directed at Lemieux, as well as school personnel.
Students have been warned they will be suspended if they took pictures or films of Lemieux on school premises.
Lemieux told The Post that she began receiving hormone replacement therapy around 2021. She was "in transition. She added, "I identify as a woman. Female. She/her."
When asked if the hormone therapy was the reason for increasing the breast size, she replied, "Yes.
My whole life, Ive been identifying as male. Ive been looking like a male. When I decided to embrace this other side of me around age 39, this presented itself.
Lemieux also clarified that intersex might represent something else to different people, but normally, a male is born with XY chromosomes, and women have XX chromosomes. Intersex people can have a mixture of those two different sets of chromosomes. It can be something they dont even know about. It can show up in other physical attributes at birth so it can be more obvious or less obvious, depending on the person.
The well-known Cleveland Clinic describes gigantomastia, which Lemieux says she suffers from, being "a rare condition that involves developing extremely large breasts due to excessive breast tissue growth," with just about 300 cases being reported.
According to the Cleveland Clinic's website: It affects people assigned female at birth. If you have gigantomastia, youll experience rapid and disproportionate breast growth. The speed at which your breasts grow can vary, from over a few weeks to over several years. It can happen during puberty, pregnancy or from taking medication. In some cases, it occurs spontaneously and for no reason.
Images and footage of Lemieux taken in the school setting exposed her wearing clothing that was form-fitting, with her nipples clearly visible through the material of her shirt.
Parents who were outraged demanded that the Halton District School Board impose the dress code on teachers. This was refused last year because of concerns over the violation of Ontario's Human Rights Code.
In January, the school board decided to adopt a new policy that requires teachers to maintain an "appropriate and professional" appearance. This week, however, a school board meeting was marred by raucous public protests, according to The National Post.
Cops were summoned to the event, several board members had left the room, and one of them was reported to have been ejected.
Julia Malott, a transgender mother from Kitchener, Ontario, attended the forum and spoke favorably of the need for a dress code to permit teachers to display their own gender identities.
But Malott said to The Post that she was shocked by the prosthetic breasts of Lemieux.
"I cannot fathom why someone would wear something that publicly sexualizes themselves in such a way," Malott stated. What they are wearing is absolutely not appropriate for school. It is fetish wear used in sex work and the drag industry or people in their own houses who enjoy it. It is certainly not something I would want my daughter to see.
When someone wears such large prosthetic breasts, which captures international attention, thats whats left in many peoples minds about trans people in general, she added. It doesnt cast a good light.
Lemieux stated to The Post that she would abide by the instructions of the board, but refuted the notion that she had worn clothing that was provocative.
I dont think theres any problems with how I have dressed. Its the personal opinion of other people. I dont think I have dressed unprofessionally. I am covered up in all these photographs that have been taken. There were some comments in the fall about me wearing what they called bicycle shorts and they said that was inappropriate. But if you look at those pictures, they come nearly to my knees. You could call them short leggings in a way. There are teachers wearing leggings to school all the time.
Lemieux added that she's fit to be a school teacher and added that she's never spoken about her personal life to her students.
"The narrative is, I look sexualized. That is a narrative that has been constructed," she stated. People are not really in my opinion sexualized. People look the way they look, they cant help it. You should embrace the way you are, you should be confident in the person you are.
In response to questions about why she chose to speak out and speak publicly, Lemieux acknowledged that it required "some courage."
"I am trying to show I am a person, I have feelings and I am trying to show people I am human," she explained. I am not trying to win anybody over or get anyone on my side. People will believe whatever they want to believe. Its time to get my story out there.
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