'Mama bear is coming for her': GOP rep accuses teacher of 'grooming' over Mona Lisa lesson
A Republican lawmaker publicly accused a teacher of "grooming" because the educator showed a video in which scholars suggested the Mona Lisa might have been a self-portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Colorado state Rep. Brandi Bradley took to X on Wednesday to complain that her 15-year-old son's history teacher told his class that the Renaissance painter, whose sexual identity remains an open question, might have been expressing gender fluidity.
"My 15 year old HISTORY teacher told her students that Leonardo DaVinci [sic] was gender fluid and that the Mona Lisa was a depiction of his feminine side," Bradley wrote. "She has no idea what kind of mama bear is coming for her."
Bradley then responded to criticism that her initial post suggested she herself had a history teacher that was 15 years old.
"My 15 year old son’s history teacher," Bradley clarified. "I sincerely apologize to all of those that I have offended with my grammatical errors. Too bad you’re not more offended by the grooming of the history teacher."
Grooming language is associated with homophobic hate speech, according to the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Bradley, currently running for reelection as a "fiscally responsible, pro-life, Christian conservative" who believes in "limiting government to its proper role" shared a recording on X of her conversation with the teacher.
Whether the teacher knew she was being recorded wasn't immediately clear.
The teacher can be heard explaining that the students watched a video — which was approved by their Douglas County school district — in which historians discussed an artistic movement away from religious expression.
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"The picture was a self portrait according to some scholars," the teacher said. "The main purpose of this was to say the difference of the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, the Renaissance was self-expression of these artists. They weren't limited or restricted by the church."
When another voice, whom Newsweek identifies as Bradley's husband in its report, rebuts the concept by arguing the Mona Lisa was a portrait of a living person, the teacher replies, "That's an argument."
While historians at the Louvre, where the Mona Lisa resides in Paris, contend the portrait depicts Florentine Lisa Gherardini, wife of silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, a group of Italian scientists raised the theory more than a decade ago that da Vinci mirrored his own bone structure in the young woman's portrait.
Bradley responds to a summary of this information by asserting her "biblical worldview" and questioning the placement of LGBTQ+ flags in the classroom.
"I'm having a hard time with walking into a room and seeing LGBTQ everywhere and wondering [about] gender fluidity," Bradley said.
"Everybody is welcome," the teacher replied. "However they are, I accept them, I don't care if they're rich or poor or gay or straight."
Bradley then suggested the teacher display Christian symbols, such as the Ten Commandments, in the classroom.
"These aren't religious symbols," the teacher replied. "I talk about christianity, but the flag is just all kids."