The state flag and seal of Virginia, featuring the Roman goddess Virtus with her left breast exposed, have stirred controversy in a Texas school district. Lamar Consolidated Independent School District removed content about Virginia from its online platform for third to fifth graders, citing the depiction’s violation of their policy on frontal nudity in elementary school materials. The Texas Freedom to Read Project condemned the censorship, calling it a new level of dystopian book-banning in Texas.

This action reignited a long-standing debate over Virginia’s flag and seal, originally designed in 1776 to symbolize the state’s strength during the fight for independence. The image of Virtus standing over a fallen tyrant, with the motto “Thus always to tyrants,” has historical significance tied to England’s King George III. Over the years, modifications were made to emphasize Virtus’s gender, including the addition of the exposed breast in 1901.

In response to past controversies over the seal’s nudity, in 2010, then-state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli distributed lapel pins to cover the breast. The debates around the depiction of Virtus’s breast have sparked discussions on censorship, classical art, and freedom of expression. Despite the efforts to censor the image, critics like political scientist Larry Sabato have defended it as a part of classical art that should not be censored. The clash between historical symbolism and modern sensitivities continues to provoke debate and reflection on the intersection of art, history, and censorship.