The New Hmoob

THE NEW HMOOB

M A R C H2 0 1 2

E XC LU SI V E I N T E RV I E W

2 0 1 2M I S S H MONG W I S C ON SI N

A P R I L2 0 1 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE EYE OF HMONG BEAUTYAn inspired Individual and his views on the Hmong beauty has led him to strive for his dreams. Read more about his project................................page 6

MISS HMONG WISCONSIN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWWords of Wisdom from our Miss Hmong Wisconsin Winner of 2012. Read about why she is Miss Hmong Wisconsin!................................page 4

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Q: What does Miss Hmong Wisconsin mean to you?

A: Miss Hmong Wisconsin has a lot of meanings to me. However, the meaning I feel I must live by as a Miss Hmong is to live my life like a mirror. When you look at yourself in the mirror, your reflection looks back. When you smile in the mirror, your reflection smiles back. I must smile first, help first, and appreciate first in order for anybody to do the same back to me. One does not have to become Miss Hmong to live like this. We all should live like this so our Hmong people can prosper.

Q: What kind of responsibilities have you been given since you earned Miss Hmong Wiscon-sin of 2012?

A: Since December 11th, 2011 when I earned the title of Miss Hmong Wisconsin of 2012, the main respon-sibility I had to for take was to air on the Suab Hmoob Sheboygan Radio in Wisconsin. The Friday of that week I went on I knew that it will not be my last time on the radio. Now I have my own personal hour on the radio to announce news or dedicate songs. Not only that, I also send out positive messages to everyone who are listening about the importance of the Hmong cul-ture. Being Miss Hmong Wisconsin, I realize how im-portant culture nourishes a person. My culture is my biggest responsibility. I proudly embrace my culture and hopefully other people will see how strong their culture can nourish them.

Q: What program(s) have you started or will be starting?

A: I have not publicly announced the programs I have started yet. However, I hope The New Hmoob, will al-low readers a better insight of my programs. So far, I have set out to fundraise for two scholarships because I feel that education is very important (as many of you have heard already). However, I see that four years of college can get you the job you dream of and not the forty years of company labor work that most people don’t want. Our parents took us here for freedom and education. We must represent their bravery by show-ing them our diplomas and degrees. Yes, it’s hard to find money nowadays, however I hope this fundraiser for scholarships will be the starting point to encourage many others to never give up on education.

“My culture is my biggest

responsibility.”The purpose of my programs is to help the younger Hmong Generation understand the importance of ed-ucation. Not only will education make you more suc-cessful; it also strengthens you as a person and allows you to become more rounded as a person. You will understand the hardship of struggling through school and life and will realize you’re not the only one. Educa-tion will broaden your horizon and you will gain many paths of thinking and accepting people’s ideas.

MISS HMONG WISCONSIN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Photographs by Xou Ying Lo

Q: What is your main goal as Miss Hmong Wisconsin this year?

A: My main goal as Miss Hmong Wisconsin this year is to inform the Hmong youth about the importance of education. Not only that, I also want to help the Hmong youth realize the glorious details of their Hmong tradi-tions. Traditions are set in place and time with our par-ents, grandparents, and ancestors. The young Hmong should do the same and keep the importance of our traditions alive. We are born the way we are and we must embrace it. Hmong are a group of people that did not let any other human power dominate them for over 6000 years. And for those 6000 years, our tradi-tions and culture were kept alive even though we did not have a proper writing system until the 1950s. If I can transcend the importance of our traditions to the Hmong youth, it would be a glorious accomplishment this year.

Q: What is the most important Hmong tradi-tion to you?

A: The most important Hmong tradition to me is re-specting the elders. It is a very simple tradition but sometimes hard to follow. I understand the younger Hmong generation is losing respect for the elders be-cause we sometimes do not want to listen to what they have to say and sometimes we do not care about their lives in Laos/Thailand because it is different from our lives in America. We are forgetting the people who sac-rificed everything they had to get us here to the United States of America. Those people are our PARENTS and GRANDPARENTS. We become selfish and forgot their ntxiaj ntsim. The least we can do back for them is respect our elders for their bravery.

Q: How has knowing and understanding the Hmong language benefit you in the pageant and outside of the pageant?

A: The Hmong language benefited me a lot during the pageant and my everyday life. Like most Hmong chil-dren born in the U.S, I struggle with writing and read-ing in Hmong. My Hmong pronunciation also has an English accent to it so it was very hard for me to perfect any Hmong word during the time I practiced for the pageant. Speaking to my grandparents and parents in Hmong was a breeze but the pageant was a whole new level of the Hmong language. I heard words I never

knew existed in the Hmong language. I pronounced words wrong when I thought I pronounced them right my whole life. Yet, these were the mistakes that I fixed up to become a better Hmong. I learned how to properly accent my words so they won’t mean an-other definition. I learned phrases and the meanings behind those phrases. No Hmong should be ashamed that they cannot speak or write the Hmong language. One can always learn or relearn how to speak and write in Hmong. Learning is a tool we all have, so let’s learn to speak our Hmong language. Our language is a very interesting language different from all other languages around the world. Learn and keep the Hmong lan-guage alive and the Hmong traditions will blossom for many years to come.

“No hmong should be ashamed that they cannot speak or write the Hmong

language.”

THE EYE OF HMONG BEAUTY PROJECTBY JOHNNY TUB NTXHAIS VANG

In the Hmong community of the United States, young teens, adults and elderly consume countless advertisements every day. There is one size, one height and one look that dominate the fashion world. I have taken a step back from the morals I devel-oped throughout the years from the fashion industry in order to show my community a different view of the media.

I started my project with the understanding that there would be a great deal of appreciation for the word “beauty.” Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder—what you do not find beautiful is beautiful to someone else. Not everyone will agree on the defini-tion of beauty. After five years of re-searching, I have found that beauty comes with full lips, clear skin, big eyes, and an overall strong face structure. For exam-ple; Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Elizabeth Hurley, Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima and many other models.

The Hmong community looks for the same attributes in beauty as everyone else. This underlying similarity inspired my project—

“The Eyes of Hmong Beauty”. The other reason for this project is my passion for modeling and my love for fashion; they help and expand my desire to inspire beauty within so many neglected Hmong individuals. I am just an ordinary Hmong person stand-ing at five feet two inches, which is considered extremely short to many in the fashion industry. My face is proportional and well structured. Although I am not the idealized “tall drink of water” I continue to live my passions—steadfastly learning about fashion and modeling whenever an op-portunity appears.

Listening to the lyrics of Ri-hanna, “To be what you is, is to be what you are.” I am who I am today therefore I am Johnny Vang.

It is seen as bizarre, unnatural, and abnormal for a Hmong guy like me to chase and love everything about the fashion world. General Vang Pao said, “I want you guys to think that your lives are not as if they were a hundred years ago, that your life is a new life, a life with light, a life in which you can hear, a life with knowledge, its differ-ent from the past and that you should change your life, don’t act the same, change everything.” To the majority of Hmong people my personal choices are not very becoming. I stray away from be-ing the typical Hmong man. This is the reason why I am who I am today; I am true to myself. I took General Vang Pao’s words and ran with them; I moved forward, Hmong people need to take a step toward an unpaved path.

My passion has led me to my project, “The Eyes of Hmong Beauty.” My project was inspired by high fashion and my own Hmong culture. I want to show my community we can be high fashion and beautiful. I want to open many people’s eyes to the issue of beauty because every ethnic group craves the ideal im-

age of beauty. Although I am just one voice out of many Hmong individuals, I wholeheartedly believe that I am beautiful inside and out. I represent Hmong beauty. Furthermore, my models also know that they have Hmong beauty. The acknowledgment that you are beautiful is one of the biggest steps to encompass-ing beauty.

The photo shoot is called “BOLD” because of the black and the three primary colors: yellow, blue and red. I wanted the mod-els to look editorial and fashion forwarded. To have this beauty, the models had to stay true to themselves and embrace both the fashion world as well as their own. With the difference of the two world, models are able learn how to blend their own beauty with high fashion and learn confidence. The photo shoot is meant to help Hmong as well as other cultures understand that anyone can be high fashion while staying true to their roots. “I want to say to everyone that we want to change our heart to not be the same. Change every-thing you do and do it for the Hmong people, not for yourself ” said General Vang Pao.To become confidence in your-self, you can over come any problems in life. Just like how the models and I dealt with our beauty, we all built confidence in ourselves to overcome the issue. Confidence is not gained in one day; it takes baby steps.

I understood my confidence when I started to slowly under-stand myself. I stayed true to myself and learned how to be comfortable in my own skin. That is something that no one can take away from me. I believe that anyone and everyone can make magic happen as long as you have confidence in yourself. Confidence is the key to beauty. Love yourself and live your beauty. To be proud is to have ownership of one’s beauty. This is my secret to my beauty.

THE EYE OF HMONG BEAUTY PROJECTBY JOHNNY TUB NTXHAIS VANG

In the Hmong community of the United States, young teens, adults and elderly consume countless advertisements every day. There is one size, one height and one look that dominate the fashion world. I have taken a step back from the morals I devel-oped throughout the years from the fashion industry in order to show my community a different view of the media.

I started my project with the understanding that there would be a great deal of appreciation for the word “beauty.” Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder—what you do not find beautiful is beautiful to someone else. Not everyone will agree on the defini-tion of beauty. After five years of re-searching, I have found that beauty comes with full lips, clear skin, big eyes, and an overall strong face structure. For exam-ple; Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Elizabeth Hurley, Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima and many other models.

The Hmong community looks for the same attributes in beauty as everyone else. This underlying similarity inspired my project—

YENG LEE

“I have always accepted the way I look and through time, I became proud of my Hmong features; high cheekbones, egg shape head, thin lips and well feature nose. But, accepting and being proud never yield

other’s acknowledgement of the beauty I possess. It was not until after my eighteenth birthday that I knew I was beautiful. The elders told me that of all my sisters, all ten of them, I was most stunning. After that

day, I became a diamond. I was cherished.

The Eyes of Hmong Beauty photoshoot validated my entire being. My image is caring and loving, my beauty is constant and boundless. Beauty does not discriminate.”

THE EYE OF HMONG BEAUTY PROJECT

NANCY VANG My story begins with how I see my reflection in the mirror every morning. I compare myself to no one else but my own perceptions. Thinking to myself, if I were to lose this chunk of fat off my stomach, maybe my shirt would look better or if my nose bridge was a bit higher I would have stronger features. If my eyes were to be cat-shape, perhaps I would not have to go out with any makeup on. But then in the end, I realize that I am who I am—a person who is loved by many. I judge myself through my own eyes and perception, but my heart knows I am beautiful internally. I am unique from other Hmong girls because I learned to love myself and be posi-tive about the way I look. My features include big sparkly eyes, small lips, an oval face, and

prominent cheekbones. I do not compare myself to other celebrities like Jessica Alba or Megan Fox. For me, celebrities like them may serve as motivation and act as a role model but never a comparison. My beauty is told from within the heart and soul. I work with what I have and with what was given to me. Although I may not feel as satisfy with parts of my body, I remind myself that I was created to be different. No one was created perfectly. My self-image does not rely on my reflection in the mirror nor what my conscious is telling me about my imperfections. I am an extrovert—loveable, outgoing, and exciting. I do not see myself better than other girls nor do I think highly of myself. My self-image comes from within my heart and from the eyes of those who accept me. After the photoshoot, I gained more confidence about the way I look and had a more positive mind-set about my features. The photoshoot made me feel as if I had become a stronger per-son. It felt amazing to know that in any kind of weather, my beauty will always stand out. Over-all, the photoshoot helped me to accept every part of my body. I can truly say that I am proud of what has been given to me.


ONG XIONG

Growing up, I knew that my complexion and physical appearances were not attractive. I was an average petite Hmong girl: black hair, stubby nose, small lips, round face, and brown almond eyes. The summer of my high school sophomore year was my turning point; I began to socialize with others to build my confidence. Since then, I have been able to develop my communication skills and self-confidence. When director Johnny Vang asked me to model for his new project, The Eyes of Hmong Beauty, I felt nervous because I knew that my features were not the greatest nor was I photogenic. But, I came to the conclusion that it would be a great experience even though I may not have extraordinary facial features, accept-able height, and perfect shape. I was afraid, nervous, and felt ugly because of my stubby round nose, but something inside nudged me to go forward, and forward to the photoshoot I went. It never hurts to try something once, right?

The Eyes of Hmong Beauty project was a magnificent experience for me. In my eyes, the photoshoot was a definite suc-cess and I had an incredible modeling experience. Knowing most modeling careers are competitive and the focus is on an individual’s physical appearances; many young women’s dream are shattered. Director Johnny Vang’s project is not all about one’s physical appearances, but one’s amazing capabilities and performance. In addition, beauty comes in different pack-ages, such as different shapes, sizes, heights, and features. The photoshoot enriched my awareness of what beauty ought to be and has given me a sense of undeniable strength. As everyone say, “it is never to late to learn,” and I too have learn a little more about my own beauty and qualities. And on that cold winter day when the snow was still holding on steadfastly to the ground, I felt relieved, gorgeous, and reserved. When I was modeling for Director Johnny Vang, I was the queen of Bradford Beach. Beauty is self-assurance, self-acknowledgement, and the ability to shine.


PA KOU VUE

I am the plus size model for Direc-tor Johnny Vang’s project, “The Eyes

of Beauty.” Being a plus size does not mean you are not beautiful. Not everyone has to be skinny, tall, and one-size in order to be considered

“beautiful.” My being plus size is no different from being skinny. Everyone

is beautiful if they have confidence and perseverance.

Before the photoshoot, I felt really uncomfortable and most of the girls

also express a sense of discomfort. In my case, I was different I was the

bigger model. I was the biggest model. I had a double chin, bigger thighs,

bigger waist, bigger everything! My being a plus size model did not stop

me, what stopped me was when I heard about the chosen hairstyle we

were going to have. High ponytail was not what I had imagined. I wanted a

hairstyle that would hide as much fat around my face as possible. I tried to

convince the director to change his mind, but he would not. I was scared

and worried.

When I finally got to look at myself in the mirror with my hair and makeup,

my feelings started to change; I no longer looked like my old self, I was

different. The high ponytail showed a side of me I never saw in myself, inner

beauty. I starred at myself in the mir-ror for a long time, and while looking

up and down I finally realized how beautiful I was. It was not what I saw that reflected from the mirror. It was

what I saw deep inside, it was what I saw under my skin, makeup, and

clothes. My hair withheld something so important to me all these years.

These are the petals of my beauty and I was beautiful because of me.


NKAUXUE LO

I was never the ugly duckling, but I was always the different duckling. Beauty is unique among individuals and everyone has his or her appeal-ing characteristics. People see me as a thicker and taller Hmong girl. They also say that my facial and skin features do not align with the typical Hmong girls. I am often mistaken for a different nationality, such as Hispanic, Cauca-sian, Thai, Filipino, and sometimes they say I am biracial due to my extremely pale skin, strongly pointed nose, and drowsy double eyelids. Even though my beauty is different among the other Hmong beauties, I am still one hundred percent Hmong.

When the director, Johnny Vang, encountered me with the question if I wanted to be part of his photo shoot this coming month, which he will feature a few girls contouring different physical features. First thing that popped into my mind “how am I going to tone down my tummy since I’ve gain some weight over the pass few months with exams and work?” Of course I couldn’t convince myself to starve nor take diet pills to make the process faster. Like many of us, we are embarrassed of our unattractive physi-cal appearance and what should we do to make it disappear? With so little time and thoughtful days of this extraordinary experience, I set my-self to have fun with it and push forward to be confident of what I am. “This is who you are and you shouldn’t be ashamed of what you have.” I shouldn’t try to change and compare myself to others since we all enclose our unique beauty.


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The New Hmoob