SHEBOYGAN – A South High alum won the 2024 Miss Asian Global Pageant, becoming the first Hmong woman to claim the title in the competition’s nearly 40-year history.
Raine Xiong, 19, was among two dozen women participating in the pageant, supported by The Asian American Foundation, in San Francisco in August. She was sponsored by Sheboygan area businesses, some Hmong-owned, including Bestea, Union Asian Market and Blooming Minds Psychotherapy.
Raine said winning the pageant as the first Hmong woman is “really cool” because she had a platform to share more about her culture.
“I feel very honored,” Raine said. “Out in California there is a big Hmong population in certain areas, but not many people know who Hmong people are in general.”
At 33%, the Hmong community accounts for the largest Asian ethnic group in Wisconsin. The state has the third highest state population of Hmong people at about 59,200 people, following California with about 101,200 Hmong people and Minnesota with about 91,300 Hmong people.
This is Raine’s second pageant and second win. She was crowned Miss Hmong Sheboygan 2023.
Raine’s mom Monyka Xiong said she thinks her daughter shined a spotlight on the Hmong community.
“I’m very proud of her,” Monyka said. “She kind of made a name for all Hmong people.”
In 1985, founder Rose Chung established the Miss Asian Global Pageant in response to underrepresentation of Asian women in mainstream competitions. Today, it aims to highlight and foster empowerment among Asian women.
As a sophomore studying political science and Asian American Studies at Stanford University with aspirations to become a lawyer and judge, she thought participating in the pageant would be a good opportunity and a way to create more connections in the Asian American community.
She heard family members who participated in pageants had good experiences, and she saw how past competitors achieved great accomplishments, among them actors, news anchors and tech entrepreneurs.
Participating in the Miss Asian Global Pageant was “empowering” for Raine.
“There’s a stigma towards pageants and pageant girls,” she said. “You think a lot of them are really ditzy, and like you are all this stuff. But my experience, especially with this one, they’re all very educated, and they’re all very ambitious, and they have these amazing things that they’re striving for.”
As the titleholder for the year, some of Raine’s responsibilities include representing the Miss Asian Global Pageant, making progress on a social platform topic (researching, giving presentations and delivering speeches) and inspiring prospective candidates.
Other participants received principle, honorary and merit titles, like Miss Asian California, Miss Asian S.T.E.M. and Miss Asian Talent.
South High student create support group: Sheboygan students launch Hmong Women For Hmong Women group, aim to foster multigenerational understanding
Xiong’s passion for social justice dates back to South High student group
The competition consisted of several segments: Interviews, Self-Introduction, Fitness, Social Platform, Evening Gown and Poise and Personality. There was an optional talent round that Raine didn’t participate in. The field was narrowed to 10 finalist who participated in a Q&A portion.
In the social impact segment, Raine spoke about the fight against detainment and deportation of Southeast Asian immigrants, specifically Cambodians and Laotians. She learned about the topic last year in an Intro to Asian American Studies class. She hopes to advocate on those issues in her future career.
Raine’s passion for racial and social justice stems back to her first couple of years at South High, helping establish the student organization WE RISE, or Working to Eliminate Racial Injustice and Support Equity.
She said the group attended school board meetings, met with school staff and spoke with Rep. Glenn Grothman and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. They shared their experiences as students, and the group advocated to broaden curriculum on race. Raine added she was involved in the hiring process for several new teachers.
Some contestant social impact projects included educating older people in technology use, fostering cross-cultural relationships and sharing Asian American and Pacific Islander storytelling and cultural knowledge.
Returning to Stanford, but pageants may be in future
Are more pageants, like Miss Wisconsin or Miss America, in Raine’s future?
“I’m not ruling anything out right now,” she said. “But I think there might be a little break between this one and the next one, because I am in school, and it is my top priority to do that.”
Have a story tip?Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Raine Xiong wins 2024 Miss Asian Global Pageant, first Hmong woman in pageant history
