In this special episode, Sasha and Stella pass the mic to honorary guest host, journalist, author, and feminist campaigner, Helen Joyce, who interviews Marian Tompson, in connection with Joyce’s recent article about Marian in The Times, "Why I Quit the Breastfeeding Charity I Founded Over Trans Ideology".
Marian Tompson, along with six other mothers, founded the global breastfeeding support network, La Leche League, in 1956. In November 2024, Tompson resigned from both the organization and its Board of Directors, believing it had strayed from its original mission to support biological mothers in breastfeeding. Mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—Marian is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and tireless advocate for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. In addition to dedicating nearly six decades of service to La Leche League in support of millions of mothers in their breastfeeding experiences, she founded a second organization in 2001, AnotherLook, the only one of its kind focused on fostering research and discussion about HIV and AIDS as they relate to breastfeeding. She has inspired and motivated audiences in more than 30 countries. Marian published a memoir in 2016, Passionate Journey: My Unexpected Life, and was featured in a film celebrating La Leche League's 60th anniversary, honoring the lasting impact the organization has had on the lives of mothers and babies worldwide (the “highlights” reel is particularly charming).
Helen’s conversation with Marian touches on the physiological intricacies of breastfeeding, the historical challenges women faced to maintain breastfeeding practices, and the broader implications of integrating transgender individuals into traditionally female-centered spaces like La Leche League.
Marian speaks passionately about the significant health benefits of breastfeeding, both for babies and mothers, emphasizing how breast milk is personalized to meet a baby’s unique needs and provides immune system support. She also addresses the cultural stigmas and embarrassment surrounding breastfeeding, particularly in the media. Marian stresses the importance of supporting women’s choices, especially working mothers, and speaks to La Leche League’s role as a nurturing community. Reflecting on generational shifts, she contrasts how her mother’s generation viewed bottle feeding as liberation with today’s emphasis on breastfeeding as a vital, natural choice for nurturing both mother and child.
Marian reflects on her decision to step down from the board, citing a growing disconnect between the board's direction and her values. She raises issues about:
Safety concerns and scientific uncertainty surrounding the potential risks to babies due to limited understanding of breast milk and male lactation involving the use of powerful hormones altering the natural breastfeeding process.
Shifting dynamics, lamenting the loss of the mother-to-mother “safe-space” support system and the awkward experience created by non-biological women in breastfeeding groups — the essence of breastfeeding, deeply rooted in women's biology and experience, is being overshadowed in favor of gender inclusivity.
Helen and Marian share a candid discussion exploring how biological realities, societal shifts, and ideological debates converge in today’s discourse on gender, motherhood, and breastfeeding.
Resources & Links
Why I quit the breastfeeding charity I founded over trans ideology: Marian Tompson started La Leche League, the world’s leading breastfeeding support network, 68 years ago. Now she’s left amid rows over biological males attending group sessions and lessons in ‘chestfeeding’, she tells Helen Joyce, by Helen Joyce (The Times)
Founder of La Leche League resigns over 'breastfeeding men': Marian Tompson says the organisation has become a 'travesty of her original intent', by Milli Hill
Passionate Journey—My Unexpected Life, by Marian Leonard Tompson and Melissa Clark Vickers
Finding the Founders - La Leche League
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