New Moon Cakes!

Most of you have probably seen or eaten a half-moon cookie before--but what about a New Moon cake? We just read that luxury hotel Sofitel Plaza Saigon in Vietnam bakes and sells new moon cakes in one of their shops. We don't know if it's possible to try one of these cakes since we're in the U.S., but they sure look yummy!

Profile: Michelle Bachelet

This week is Latina heritage week at newmoongirls.com! Today we are profiling a strong Latina leader. Read on to learn about Michelle Bachelet, the first female president of Chile in South America. Ms. Bachelet has been the president of Chile since 2006, and prior to her current position, she also held roles as Minister of Health and Minister of Defense for the country.

She was born in Santiago, the capital of Chile. Her mother was an archaeologist, and her dad was in the Chilean Air Force. She spent her childhood moving and living on different military bases. A fun fact: she spent almost two years living in Maryland in the US during her high school years!

Ms. Bachelet is a member of Chile's socialist party, and during her early adult years this affiliation led to her being kidnapped and tortured at a time when the government in power was persecuting socialists. After being freed, she lived in Germany and continued her studies for awhile before returning to Chile. Trained as a doctor, she began working for health organizations back in her home country, which eventually propelled her into politics.

After being elected president on January 15, 2006, she named an equal number of men and women cabinet members. She also appointed people from a wide variety of different parties, keeping consistent with the idea of balanced power. You can read more about Michelle Bachelet in New Moon's September/October 2006 issue, "Politics and Leaders," or you can read about other strong Latina women at http://www.newmoongirls.com/.

Contest Opportunity!

Hey girls! Ever finish a book and imagine what happens to the characters next? I know I do! Well get your thinking caps on and check out this neat writing contest from Lynn Brittney, author of the Christmas book Christine Kringle. She’s interested in finding out where the readers want to see the story and characters go next. To find out, she's asking people between the ages of 10 and 100 to come up with a one page plot synopsis for the next book in the Christine Kringle series.

What are the perks of winning you may ask? The winner of the contest will receive both $5,000 and their name on the front of the next book!

Entry forms can be found at the book’s website. If you haven’t read the book, you might want to check it out from your local library so that you can become familiar with the characters and plot line. The deadline isn't until January 31st 2009, so you still have plenty of time!

Wanted: Girl to Write about Republican Convention

Hi, girls! It's an exciting election year in the U.S., with all of us waiting on the edge of our seat to see whether we'll have our first Black president or our first woman vice president. Recently, I received a journal about the Democratic National Convention written by a 12-year-old girl who attended. We'll be featuring the journal at NewMoonGirls.com. I'd love to include coverage of the Republican Convention as well. If you or a girl you know attended, please consider submitting something to NewMoonGirls! You can get in touch with me at laceyl@newmoongirlmedia.com to learn more!

Are women facing a glass ceiling?

It's been exciting to see two strong women in this year's U.S. presidential race, first Hillary Clinton, and now Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Some people still judge women harshly for focusing on their career, thinking they should focus on family instead or fulfill more traditional gender roles. Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is an example of a powerful woman in politics who has been able to have both a successful career and large family.

Ms. Palin gave a speech this past Wednesday at the Republican National Convention. In her speech she made the statement “women can walk through any door in America,” referring to the opportunities that they are able to pursue. If this is true, why do you think there are so few women in politics and top positions in business? Are women less interested in these positions, or are they still facing a "glass ceiling" in these fields?

The idea of a glass ceiling is that there are invisible barriers that prevent someone from advancing into higher-level positions in their career field. These “invisible barriers” include factors such as age, race, and gender. Men are often paid more and favored for promotion over women. Many women also feel that they face stereotypes in the professional world, such as unfair doubt about their ability to lead and persuade.

Do you agree with Ms. Palin's statement? Do you think that women and men have equal career opportunities in America? Is a glass ceiling still present? Does a woman’s desire to pursue a family play a large role in whether or not she can have a successful career? What can women do to continue moving forward?

Sports And Dedication-What's Too Much?

Following up on the sports-related post from yesterday, I ran across an article today questioning whether or not starting children in intense sports training at an early age is a good idea. Growing up, I had a friend who started learning ballet at a young age in a pre-professional program. Ballet is a physical art that demands a huge time and mental commitment starting at a young age, and by fifth grade she was required to attend classes almost every day. By sixth grade she had quit the program to pursue other interests and spend more time with friends.

With the Olympics still a fresh topic on everyone’s minds, the article mentioned young gymnast Shawn Johnson,who began her gymnastics training at the age of three. Without her early dedication, it’s hard to know if she could have become as talented at the sport as she is today. However, the intense training required of female athletes such as Shawn puts a lot of stress on their growing bodies. Spending so much time on the same physical activity can also get in the way of girls' studies or friendships.

While it’s good to be passionate about something, do you think that you can spend too much time on an activity? In the competitive world of sports, how much is too much? If someone shows potential to excel in a sport, do you think that their parents should still encourage them to pursue other interests? Do you or girls you know feel the need to be perfect or "the best" at something at any cost? Let's talk about it!

High School Girl Banned From Playing On Her School's Team

Football is the quintessential American sport, and the traditional view of the sport is that boys play the game while girls cheer them on from the sidelines. Most sports have a male team and a female team, but football is one of the few sports for which there is only one team—and it’s almost always all-male.

We were upset to read that last week, a 14-year-old girl in Georgia was banned from playing on her private school’s high school team because of her gender. According to this article on ESPN, the Georgia Football League, which oversees the private school teams for the state, dismissed Kacy Stuart from playing on her school’s team. Kacy had played throughout middle school for her school and would have been allowed to continue playing at a public high school had she not attended a private Christian school instead--which is exempt from Title IX since they don't receive federal funding.

We hope that Kacy finds a way to continue playing football, and we applaud her for pursuing her love of the sport despite gender barriers! We were also excited to find out that The National Women's Football Association is hosting football camps this fall to teach interested girls how to play the sport. If you want to do something, gender should not be the factor stopping you!

Do any of you girls know of stories like this one? Do you know any girls who play on a team that is otherwise all-male?