Hmong Family Cultural Analysis

Hmong identities are often influenced by three major factors that dictate patriarchal gender roles in Hmong families and communities. The importance of family, marriage, and roles by birth has significant contribution in shaping Hmong cultural expectations for men and women. The generational conflicts between these factors have influenced how men and women are expected to behave, but education has slowly paved the way for gender equality as Hmong has always found a way to change their ways of life in accordance to every nation they have come across (Vang, 2016). Ngo (2011) found that Hmong cultural values create a sense of oppression for Hmong girls as they are expected to be submissive while the boys are expected to be decisive. This

Because of family values, there is a huge emphasis on marriage within the Hmong community. Similarly, males make all the decisions and carry on the family names within the clan identity. The duties that are expected of males extend beyond western cultures with what might be considered at the center of a typical family upbringing. Because of this, the roles by birth and the family obligations are an integral part of the Hmong traditional community. Her and Louise Buley-Meissner (2012) discussed how traditionally Hmong men would get to eat first with the women eating last on the men’s left over during special traditional ceremonies. As this might be true back in Laos, it is no longer the case in America. In my family, we have compromised this with two tables simultaneously. One table is set for all the men to do traditional bowls and rituals while one table is set for the women to eat. These kinds of behavior are now more consistent across various Hmong communities. Families are now encouraged to eat together in social gatherings like big New Year ceremonies whereas this is not the case in the past. In my family, I have many aunts that are highly educated at the professional levels where this honor would have been reserved for men only back in

Education is not just reserved for Hmong men anymore as women roles are slowly adjusting and in many cases the roles switched where more women are now the main providers in the home. The ways of the American dream can longer support the traditional cultural structures that Hmong long established back in Laos. Hmong can no longer afford to stay the same anymore by enriching the mind of Hmong men and women with the capacity to grow through education. Lee (2001) substantiated that educators need to support these gender role changes that are at odds with family expectations and dominant culture as Hmong cannot afford not to do so in order to move forward in the 21st