Jane Fonda tells girls at the "Girls For A Change" conference at Montana State University they can change the world

Actress and activist Jane Fonda spoke Saturday in Bozeman at a conference for teenage girls and told them they have the power to change the world.

"The reason I’ve been excited about coming here is because I believe if we’re going to solve the problems confronting the world on every level, it’s going to have to be the girls who do it," Fonda said.

She was the keynote speaker at the Girls For A Change conference at Montana State University. At the end of her talk, the audience of about 250 stood and applauded.

At 67, the two-time Oscar winner looked trim, stylish and youthful in a purple turtleneck and slacks, but she said it had taken a great toll on her over the years trying to look perfect.

For thousands of years, she said, civilization has been organized as a patriarchal hierarchy, like a triangle with room for few at the top and many at the bottom — a system she called competitive, controlling and toxic.

"That doesn’t mean men are bad," she added, saying that men are victims, too.

By GAIL SCHONTZLER, Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/02/13/news/02fondagirlsconf.txt