Graham Linehan's Substack has revealed some interesting details regarding controversy in LLL International which is the umbrella organisation for all LLL groups outside of the USA. Therefore LLLGB, LLL Canada, etc are under the LLLI umbrella. This controversy is mirrored within breastfeeding organisations in all the English speaking nations and I suspect in many non-English speaking nations too. What they have in common is that they are all from higher income Western Countries. The ideology is now being forced upon the middle and low income countries with a fist in a velvet glove. This is therefore the richer Global North imposing on the poorer Global South. It is ideology being exported to those who have little or no voice.
The most recent communication to LLL is below and is for reference for anyone who finds the content useful for research, the media, and for communicating with their own birth and breastfeeding organisations.
OPEN QUOTE 8 September 2021
Dear LLLI Board of Directors and the Executive Director,
In responding to the 9 August 2021 letter, initially signed by 227 current and former Leaders, we feel that the LLLI Board is exhibiting a lack of cultural humility in claiming that what some consider appropriate language in the United States (U.S.), and in Western countries influenced by U.S. culture, should also be applied to ancient and present day cultures around the world. This is cultural and linguistic imperialism.
We call on the Board to listen to Leaders from diverse countries, beliefs, backgrounds and cultures who have asked for your respect and consideration.
It is important that…
• LLLI stay true to the LLL mission statement,
• LLLI keep its focus on the breastfeeding mother-baby dyad, and
• LLLI publications, whether in print or digital, reflect LLL philosophy.
Furthermore, we wish to make you aware that a further 40 Leaders have signed the letter since we sent it (total of 267 Leaders) and two more countries, Colombia and Malaysia, have been added (a total of 45 countries). Attached is the letter on LLLI Language with the additional signatures and countries. From time to time we may provide further updates of signatures that have been added.
We would request that the attached letter that includes all the signatures not be shared with those who were not included as recipients. If needed, we would be happy to provide a redacted version for sharing with others.
SincereLLLy,
_
CLOSE QUOTE
My personal views are as follows: "It has been years that Leaders have been in communication with the LLL International board and they feel like LLLI's responses have been to ignore the complaints, kick it into the long grass, and when pushed to reply it is always inadequate and remain centring trans women and non-binary men. I say 'transwomen' since trans men are women and therefore will always be welcomed by Leaders becuase they are biological females. They also have unique difficulties with breastfeeding much like many other women do and why LLL exists. Women who have a baby in SCBU (special care baby units - aka pre-term), babies with congenital birth defects or birth injuries, babies who are tongue tie, mothers who have birth trauma, post-partum depression, breastfeeding while using a range of medications, mothers with breast hypoplasia, with diabetes, with breastfeeding aversion, mothers breastfeeding twins, single mothers, mothers in abusive relationships, mothers in prison, mothers who are homeless, mothers who are asylum seekers, mothers living in poverty... to name many, but not inclusive of all difficulties they may face.
None of these mothers expect their unique difficulties and life experiences to be centered because LLL is a shared space for all mothers , mothers as it is defined by the dictionary. Trans (men & women) and non-binary (again, men & women) identities are more important than immutable biological realities. Therefore the centring of identities rather than the female sex gives biological males equal opportunity to all La Leche League meetings, support help line, and magazine articles, and so on. This destruction of a female centred space has significant and unintended safeguarding concerns for mothers and babies. However the knee-jerk reaction has been to debase any concerns as anti-trans, homophobic, and racist bigotry. Concerns for safeguarding women and babies should never be conflated with any of these ideas.
La Leche League was created because mothers and the breastfeeding work they did was invisible and in danger of becoming extinct in the Western world. La Leche League is in danger of destroying its own raison d'etre as La Leche League no longer speaks for mothers or to mothers."