198 - The Trans Inclusion Controversy That Took Over La Leche League with Helen Joyce & Marian Tompson

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. 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. Together, they share a candid discussion exploring how biological realities, societal shifts, and ideological debates converge in today’s discourse on gender, motherhood, and breastfeeding. For links and resources relevant to this episode, access the full show notes at Buy Our Book – When Kids Say They’re Trans: A Guide for Thoughtful Parents at Join Our Listener Community to Access Exclusive Content at Support the Show at Join the conversation on YouTube at For more information about Sasha’s & Stella’s parent coaching membership groups, visit: Sasha Ayad: Stella O’Malley: To learn more about our sponsors, visit: Therapy First at Genspect at This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

You can listen to 198 - The Trans Inclusion Controversy That Took Over La Leche League with Helen Joyce & Marian Tompson online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

198 - The Trans Inclusion Controversy That Took Over La Leche League with Helen Joyce & Marian Tompson is an episode from Gender: A Wider Lens Podcast by Sasha Ayad and Stella O'Malley.

This episode is 74:52 long.

This episode was published on Dec 20, 2024.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Gender: A Wider Lens Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.