Another Leader Bites the Dust

How bad policies impact on mothers supporting mothers

A guest post from a former La Leche League Leader who was hounded out of her leadership position for not complying with the policy that requires Leaders to help “everyone”, including men, to breastfeed their babies. I am aware of many Leaders in her position, and this is but one story of many. Despite the fact that she is no longer a Leader, because of the online bullying she was subjected to on the LLL Leaders Facebook page, she prefers to remain anonymous.

Today autumn begins and I am leaving a heavy burden behind: I am definitely leaving La Leche League [Unnamed Country] because of its transgenderist stance, after enduring a long process of expulsion first, from the LLLUC, and following a ‘trial’ later, to see if I would be disaccredited or not. All of this was triggered because, as many of you know, I went public with my stance rejecting the policies initiated a few years ago by a trans-male-identified biological woman who called herself a father, and began her future personal political career by submerging a mother to mother  support organization into the queer theory agenda.

I could have stayed, since after the judgment they saw no reason to disaccredit me, but I had to sign something unsignable for me if I was to save my accreditation. And I have many flaws, but hypocritical and manipulative I am not.

For me the priority of all priorities is the welfare of the baby and the protection of the continuum with his/her mother. And these values are no longer compatible with the current LLL. So I did not sign. In fact, I did not even answer the e-mail that I should have answered to “save myself”, because after the loss of a person very dear to me, I began to see everything from another perspective and, frankly, there are things for which "there is no better contempt than not to make any response".

From the past 10 years in LLL I take with me many wonderful hours, with wonderful women and babies, despite the tears of the last few months. There are still amazing women inside, whose position in the organization hangs by a thin thread because, as you can guess, I have not been the only one to suffer from the trans delirium in the organization. I'm sorry I can no longer fight with them from the inside, but I have other priorities now and I think I will be much more useful on the outside.

I am left with what LLL has been for decades and all that breastfeeding (and lives) saved. I mourn the transformation of that huge international organization for the misogynistic interests of a powerful minority. I hope that when it all falls, the wonderful Leaders who are left working on the ground will be able to lift it up again, so that it can regain its credibility.

Because mothers and babies around the world need Leaders who value mothers over a political ideology.