JACKSON, Wyo. — It Takes a Valley and Wyoming Women’s Action Network are teaming up to present a screening of the film “No Country for Mothers” with a community discussion to follow on Sunday.
The event is free to attend in the Ordway Auditorium at the Teton County Library on Sunday, Sept. 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., and space is limited to the first 100 people to RSVP online. According to the event announcement, “No Country for Mothers” is a 75-minute film that investigates culture wars surrounding American motherhood. The film argues that “the labels we fight over distract from the thing almost every family is actually up against: a country that has never built real support for raising children.”
Hosts of the event contend that this struggle is very real in Teton County, where families navigate high costs of living and long waitlists for childcare. And where the decisions to have a baby and keep a job often collide.
“We see what young families in this valley are up against, and we are working to build the support network locally that they should have had all along,” Executive Director of It Takes a Valley Alli Lane said in a statement. “This film matters for mothers and families, and it matters just as much for anyone who employs them. These are not private problems. They belong to all of us, and we get a lot further when we carry them together.”
The post-film discussion will be facilitated by Natalia Macker, a Teton County Commissioner and a board member with Wyoming Women’s Action Network. The discussion will include Cal Brackin, the innovation and engagement manager for Teton County, and Lane, who specializes in perinatal resources and support with It Takes a Valley. They will chat about meaningful change and support, and what that could look like in Teton County and Wyoming.
“For too long, issues women face around childcare, equal pay, healthcare and more have been seen as individual problems to solve, not a societal crisis,” Macker said in a press release. “This film explores that reality and galvanizes tangible action all of society, from government to businesses to families, should take now. We need many voices to get involved and hope you will join us to learn more.”
