An impossible decision for LLL Leaders

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“Many La Leche League Leaders are experiencing moral distress due to the actions of the Board of Directors. The LLL Board has created language policies that result in the promotion of men attempting to breastfeed. Not only do these policies hurt women and children, they force Leaders to make a choice that often goes against their sense of ethical breastfeeding practices. Mothers’ and babies’ well being is an after thought, glibly traded for woke value signaling status.” Moral Distress

Excellent article. Thanks for sharing it here.

Really excellent article.

Particularly the conclusion:

Leader numbers continue to drop precipitously year by year. It was suggested on the LLL Leaders FB page that Leaders need “more education around inclusivity and diversity” to increase the number of Leaders who are volunteering their time and resources by a Leader who believes in gender ideology.

I offer a counter argument: I maintain that moral distress is causing an exodus of Leaders. Leaders who became involved in LLL to help other mothers breastfeed are being given an impossible choice to make: Either help men -- and women who have tried to turn themselves into men to attempt to breastfeed over their own moral and safety objections, or leave the organisation. This is an extremely difficult decision for a Leader to make and an irresponsible position for the La Leche League Board of Directors to demand of Leaders. It’s time to stop distressing our Leaders and return to supporting the work of our mission.

It echoes my own thoughts about feminism in general actually.

LLL Leaders are to breastfeeding women everywhere what self-declared prominent feminists are to women everywhere. They are the leaders of a movement which is supposed to support and promote the people that that movement is for. But the success or failure of that movement depends entirely on how many people you bring along with it.

By focusing on the inclusion of people who don't actually have anything to do with your movement and aren't the people it's supposed to be for, you leave the people your movement actually is supposed to be for out in the cold.

This attitude which prioritises the inclusion of women who have had their breasts removed and men who want to "breastfeed" babies will result in women who actually can and want to breastfeed their babies without support, or looking for it elsewhere. Just like the version of "feminism" which includes and centres male people will result in a lot of female people thinking, "this has nothing to do with me" and not engaging.

That's really interesting, and @babyjellyfish I think you've summed up how I feel!

Moral distress is exactly why I left. I really feel for the local Leaders struggling on, but in the end I didn’t feel able to subsidise and be part of an organisation promoting things I think are harmful to babies and mothers.

I haven’t, and won’t, make an public criticism of LLL. If the organisation decides that’s the right way forward for them, its their business. But I can’t be part of it.