A transgender mother who underwent medical treatment to breastfeed her newborn son is suing a breastfeeding expert who publicly dismissed her experience as a ‘delusional queer theory take’.
Former Australian Breastfeeding Association volunteer Jasmine Sussex will face a Queensland tribunal next year over claims she discriminated against Brisbane transgender woman Jennifer Adrian Buckley.
The tribunal will decide if Buckley was discriminated against under the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act over a series of social media posts where Ms Sussex described Ms Buckley as a ‘man pretending to be a woman’ and referred to her breastfeeding as a ‘dangerous fetish’ and ‘experimental’.
Buckley is alleging that Ms Sussex’s online comments amount to vilification, saying that they were ‘hurtful’.
Ms Sussex, who completed a PhD on breastfeeding, told the Daily Mail the case is about protecting the rights of women and preserving the mother-baby relationship.
Ms Buckley, who transitioned from male to female, claimed to have successfully induced lactation and breastfed her newborn son in 2019.
Her wife, Sandi, had given birth through IVF using sperm Ms Buckley froze before transitioning.
Ms Buckley said her endocrinologist helped her mimic pregnancy to produce milk and used a range of medications to suppress testosterone, boost oestrogen, and trigger the production of the milk-producing hormone prolactin.
Transgender woman Jennifer Buckley (right) is pictured with her newborn son and wife, Sandi. Ms Buckley is suing a former breastfeeding counsellor for ‘discrimination’ and ‘vilification’
Jasmine Sussex (pictured) was sacked from her role as a volunteer councillor for the Australian Breastfeeding Association after refusing to use transgender-neutral language
‘I used a breast pump daily to encourage milk production. At first, it was a small amount but gradually increased to about 40 millilitres a day,’ she told British website parentingqueer.co.uk.
The couple agreed Sandi would be the primary feeder, but Ms Buckley took on a greater role for a short period of time following complications with Sandi’s health.
Doctors and midwives were initially reluctant to allow her to breastfeed in hospital, citing safety concerns. She later fed her baby at home using stored milk.
Endocrinologist Naomi Achong, who treated Ms Buckley, conceded the scientific evidence on the subject was ‘limited’ but said her experience with breastfeeding by transgender men had been ‘exclusively positive’.
‘There are no risks to the infant but rather extended benefits to the infant and both parents,’ she told The Australian.
‘Whilst there may only be limited public data, there is considerable anecdotal evidence supporting this practice,’ she said.
‘Similarly, whilst not common practice in Australia, it is approved and supported in other countries.’
But others warn further evidence is needed to support the practice, with the potential health outcomes for babies still largely unexplored.
Ms Buckley is pictured with her newborn son whom she breastfed after her endocrinologist prescribed medication to help her to begin lactation
The rift with the volunteer councillor came after Ms Buckley shared her breastfeeding experience in response to a social media post by the ABA on Mother’s Day in 2021.
In response, Ms Sussex, who was working for the ABA at the time, wrote: ‘Are you aware that Jennifer Buckley appears to be a man pretending to be a woman?’
Ms Sussex conceded she could have delivered the message more delicately but said her intentions were not to discriminate against Ms Buckley.
‘My goal was to alert the ABA that they were dealing with a biological male,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Her comment was soon deleted by the ABA, before she was blocked from the organisation’s Facebook page.
Within months, the organisation sacked Ms Sussex. The volunteer of 15 years was told it was not related to Ms Buckley’s complaint.
Behind the scenes, the organisation had been dealing with a dispute over a push to adopt gender-inclusive terminology including ‘chestfeeding’ and ‘pregnant people’.
Ms Sussex was among several people who resisted the push, claiming the organisation was made up of ‘mothers providing support to other mothers’.
A spokesperson for the ABA told the Daily Mail Ms Sussex was removed for ‘repeated breaches’ of its code of ethics.
Ms Sussex said she plans to defend the case against her to protect the rights of women and the importance of the mother-baby relationship
‘Any claim that ABA volunteers were or have ever been dismissed due to their use of the word “mother” are untrue,’ they said.
Of the decision to block Ms Sussex on Facebook, they said: ‘This risk mitigation was deemed appropriate during our internal investigations into potential breaches of our Code of Ethics.’
Ms Sussex later publicly described Ms Buckley’s recount of her breastfeeding experience as a ‘delusional queer theory take’.
Ms Sussex said her comments were not personal but later deleted some comments during conciliation with Ms Buckley.
She drew the line at requests for her to sign an agreement preventing her from ever speaking on the subject again.
‘I tried to settle, but (Ms Buckley) wanted me silent forever. That wasn’t acceptable,’ she said.
Having failed to reach a settlement, Ms Sussex is now preparing for the case to be heard at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in May next year.
Ms Buckley’s legal team will argue Ms Sussex’s posts amounted to unlawful vilification under Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
The case against Ms Sussex, set to begin next year, will be fiercely contested and is expected to test the science and theory of gender transitions (stock)
They claim her comments incited contempt and ridicule based on gender identity.
Ms Sussex said her defence to the claims of vilification and discrimination would rely on grounds of public interest, human rights and biology.
‘Breastfeeding is a sex-specific function,’ she said. ‘Men can’t claim vilification for being told they can’t do it.’
She plans to call medical experts to challenge the safety of induced lactation in transgender women.
‘It’s not an issue for me until it affects the well being of babies and mothers… much of my adult life has been about supporting mothers to breastfeed their babies,’ she said.
‘I just think mothers and babies deserve better than this.’
Daily Mail contacted Ms Buckley and Dr Achong for comment.
