A01
Week 2
Kaozong Mouvangsou writes The Miseducation of the Hmong on her observation and analysis of Hmong and Hmong American beliefs and experiences in the United States, and through the US education system. In her paper, Mouvangsou reaches out to other Hmong families as a part of her research, dissecting each family's views on education, and relates these findings to general Hmong studies on education and the Hmong presence in education overall.
One thing that stood out to me very much is the findings that Mouvangsou acquired from the families. Many believed that Hmong females were able to excel better in school than their male counterparts (Mouvangsou, 2016). This in turn, caused a divide within the community, not only between Hmong girls and boys, but even between Hmong boys themselves. I am Chinese American, so many of my parents' views circle around Confucian ideals, namely the "respect your elders" and misogyny of it. Though my father is more exposed to American standards than my mother is, he holds a stronger patriarchal and misogynistic view. Contrary to my mother and Mouvangsou's findings, women in my culture are seen as "inferior" to men. This view was made very clear to me upon driving instruction. My father ridiculed my driving, blaming my shortcomings on being a girl and that "if [I] were a boy, driving would come easier". He then added that my cousin, a recently emigrated boy, excelled in so many other ways despite being foreign born. I am still shocked to this day that despite having raised and surrounded by many successful Chinese women, my father still feels this way. So upon reading Mouvangsou's findings, it came as a surprise to me.
Questions: Do you think that in cultural communities where gender is not so forwardly pushed (like on Confucianist cultures) that expectations still differ? Would you (Kaozong) also say that your findings also apply to communities similar to the Hmong (in terms of the "lost language", "no country") such as the Iu Mien?
I chose this picture to illustrate how the stereotype of the "smart Asian" marginalizes the other characteristic Asian Americans can have and how it seems to only feature East-Asian Americans.
Resources:
Asian-American Whiz Kids [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2017, from https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/1101870831_400.jpg?h=425
Mouavangsou, K. (2017). Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans.
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