Transmission and reconstruction of gender through dress:Hmong American New Year rituals.

Abstract

Abstract This is the second of two articles focused on the role of dress in the formulation of Hmong American cultural life. The first article focused on the performance of two versions of Hmong American New Year and how dress is used by Hmong Americans to make sense of their position between the cultural world of the past and contemporary American culture. This paper centers on the transmission and reconstruction of female gender roles in the American context as expressed through women’s headdress worn to the Hmong American New Year celebration. Both uses of dress arose out of attempts to reconcile the cultural life of the past with their lives in the United States; both are expressed visually through the dressed and evaluated body within the context of the Hmong New Year celebration. Key Words: ritual, material culture, dress, Hmong