Moving out of Home: Negotiating Gender for Personal Transformation of Hmong Women Working in Tourism-related Activities in Sa Pa, Vietnam

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the various strategies that Hmong women who work in tourism-related activities use to deal with their husbands at home. Based on ethnographic research in Sa Pa, Vietnam, the author argues that Hmong women have successfully manipulated the discourse of traditions concerning gender and work to gain power in their relationships with their husbands, and overcome the socio-cultural and economic constraints imposed on them by their culture. Hmong women continue to play a subordinate role in their patriarchal society, while at the same time undermining the system through their subtle power struggles. In order to ensure that their husbands continue to support the family, they understand how important it is for them to continue to feel powerful and dominant. Hmong women use their newly learned negotiation skills to deal with their husbands and gain a better position in the family.