Portraits of Hmong Women: Photographic documentary with essay

The pages that follow, rich in descriptive detail, are the fruits of their labor. The women in this survey vary in age, education and level of literacy of American culture. Some were born in Laos and came here as adults. Others arrived as children or in their teens and have been educated as Americans. Portrait of Hmong Women conveys their stories. It brings to light their voices, thoughts and perspectives. In doing so, it shows how the lives of Hmong women are complicated by a multitude of social and cultural factors, including difficult choices they must regularly confront. We will learn that some of those choices were made by them; others have been made for them. Each personal narrative is thus about life in a community that is bounded by strong traditions on the one hand and informed by the need to exercise some autonomy within the spaces of those traditions on the other.