Tread Lightly in Different Cultures
by Teresa F. Dean
Category: Health & Fitness

This broad view of the world documents the author's experiences as a lighter-skinned American woman with racism in the US and, later, throughout the world. As the author travels in and out of many lands, patterns of racism emerge and solutions seem evasive. This book takes us on the author's journey across a complex and multicolored planet. It also chronicles her life's work and records, in detail, the important lessons in international women's reproductive health that she learned while working in other countries and cultures. Individual stories about the lives of women in developing countries are told by the women themselves and by the author. These are stories of the neglect of women's health care needs and the illness and death that result. Most neglected are the darker-skinned women in developing countries. The author's experience in numerous developing countries documents racism by lighter-skinned people; an increased awareness of the neglect of women's health in developing countries; and the need to continue to address the challenges of population and environmental issues. The American public and US government leaders have not been adequately informed about or credited with the effective work in international women's health that Johns Hopkins University and other international agencies have provided through support from the United States Agency for International Development. This book seeks to bring this valuable work to light.