Claiming place : on the agency of Hmong women

Countering the idea of Hmong women as victims, the contributors to this pathbreaking volume demonstrate how the prevailing scholarly emphasis on Hmong culture and men as the primary culprits of women's subjugation perpetuates the perception of a Hmong premodern status and renders unintelligible women's nuanced responses to patriarchal strategies of domination both in the United States and in Southeast Asia. Claiming Place expands knowledge about the Hmong lived reality while contributing to broader conversations on sexuality, diaspora, and agency. While these essays center on Hmong experiences, activism, and popular representations, they also underscore the complex gender dynamics between women and men and address the wider concerns of gendered status of the Hmong in historical and contemporary contexts, including deeply embedded notions around issues of masculinity. Organized to highlight themes of history, memory, war, migration, sexuality, selfhood, and belonging, this book moves beyond a critique of Hmong patriarchy to argue that Hmong women have been and continue to be active agents not only in challenging oppressive societal practices within hierarchies of power but also in creating alternative forms of belonging. Contributors: Geraldine Craig, Kansas State U; Leena N. Her, Santa Rosa Junior College; Julie Keown-Bomar, U of Wisconsin–Extension; Mai Na M. Lee, U of Minnesota; Prasit Leepreecha, Chiang Mai U; Aline Lo, Allegheny College; Kong Pha; Louisa Schein, Rutgers U; Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, U of Connecticut; Bruce Thao; Ka Vang, U of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 6 Introduction: Hmong Women, Gender, and Power 8 Part I. History and Knowledge Formation 30 1. Rewriting Hmong Women in Western Texts 32 2. Rechronicling Histories: Toward a Hmong Feminist Perspective 57 3. Rethinking Hmong Women's Wartime Sacrifices 85 Part II. Social Organization, Kinship, and Politics 114 4. The Women of "Dragon Capital": Marriage Alliances and the Rise of Vang Pao 116 5. Hmong Women, Family Assets, and Community Cultural Wealth 146 6. Divorced Hmong Women in Thailand: Negotiating Cultural Space 173 Part III. Art and Media 196 7. Hmong Women on the Web: Transforming Power through Social Networking 198 8. Stitching Hmongness into Cloth: Pliable Identity and Cultural Agency 224 9. Reel Women: Diasporic Cinema and Female Collectivity in Abel Vang's Nyab Siab Zoo 249 Part IV. Gender and Sexuality 276 10. Thinking Diasporic Sex: Cultures, Erotics, and Media across Hmong Worlds 278 11. Dangerous Questions: Queering Gender in the Hmong Diaspora 309 12. Finding Queer Hmong America: Gender, Sexuality, Culture, and Happiness among Hmong LGBTQ 332 Afterword 356 Acknowledgments 364 Contributors 366 Index 368 A 368 B 368 C 368 D 369 E 369 F 370 G 370 H 371 I 371 J 371 K 371 L 371 M 372 O 373 P 373 Q 374 R 374 S 375 T 376 U 376 V 376 W 376 X 377 Y 377 Introduction : Hmong women, gender, and power / Chia Youyee Vang, Faith Nibbs, and Ma Vang -- History and knowledge production -- Rewriting hmong women in western texts / Leena N. Her -- Rechronicling histories : toward a hmong feminist perspective / Ma Vang -- Rethinking hmong women's wartime sacrifices : on gender and sexuality / Chia Youyee Vang -- Social organization and kinship -- The women of "dragon capital" : marriage alliances and the rise of Vang Pao / Mai Na Lee -- Hmong women, family assets, and community cultural wealth / Julie Keown-Bomar and Ka Vang -- Divorced hmong women in Thailand : negotiating cultural space / Prasit Leepreecha -- Art and media -- Hmong women on the web : transforming power through social networking / Faith Nibbs -- Stitching hmongness into cloth : pliable identity and cultural agency / Geraldine Craig -- Reel women : diasporic cinema and female collectivity in Abel Vang's Nyab Siab zoo / Aline Lo -- Gender and sexuality -- Thinking diasporic sex : cultures, erotics, and media across Hmong worlds / Louisa Schein -- Dangerous questions : queering gender in the Hmong diaspora / Bruce Thao -- Finding queer Hmong America : gender, sexuality, culture, and happiness among Hmong LGBTQ / Kong Pha -- Afterword -- Cathy schlund-vials -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors -- Index.