This morning's Guardian contained an interesting article on a new Swedish rating for films that addresses gender bias. Called the Bechdel, it reminded me of the opposite feelings stirred up about the position of women when my travel includes Sweden and Guatemala. I imagine life as a girl and then woman, will be very different for a Swedish friend's daughter (above) as opposed to these girls I saw with their mother during my most recent SSG site-visit to Guatemala (below). Working with gender issues is always a part of any program we support in Guatemala, but frankly, the US has a long way to go in terms of women's rights. All you need to do to get a fix on the current backwards pulse here is to look at Hollywood and Texas. This makes me miss my years as a high school teacher, an educational period when it is so vital to introduce teenagers to both external and internal reality, good tools and empowerment.
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