Fa'afafine

Fa'afafine are a third-gender people of Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. A recognized identity/role since at least the early 20th century in Samoan society, and some theorize an integral part of traditional Samoan culture, fa'afafine are male at birth, and explicitly embody both masculine and feminine gender traits, fashioned in a way unique to this part of the world. Their behavior typically ranges from extravagantly feminine to mundanely masculine.^[1]

Terminology

The word fa'afafine includes the causative prefix fa'a–, meaning "in the manner of", and the word fafine, meaning "woman".^[2] It is cognate with linguistically related words in other Polynesian languages, such as the Tongan fakafefine (also fakaleiti), the Maori whakawahine, the Cook Islands Maori akava'ine, and similar to the Hawaiian concept of mahu.

The Samoan slang word mala (or "devastation" in the Samoan language) is in less frequent use for fa'afafine.

Role in Samoan society

Fa'afafine are known for their hard work and dedication to the family, in the Samoan tradition of tautua. Ideas of the family in Samoa and Polynesia are markedly different from Western constructions, and include all the members of a sa, or communal family within the fa'amatai family systems.^[3]

It is a mistake to attribute a Western interpretation to fa'afafine by mislabeling them as "gay," "homosexual," or "drag queens." In Samoa, people claim that there is no such thing as being "gay" or "homosexual."^[1] Fa'afafine, as a third gender, have sexual relationships almost exclusively with men who do not identify as fa'afafine, and sometimes with women, but apparently not with other fa'afafine.^[4] This third gender is so well-accepted in Samoan culture that most Samoans state that they have friendship relationships with at least one fa'afafine; it is, however, not totally accepted in other communities, such some Catholic groups and traditional leaders. Traditionally, fa'afafine follow the training of the women's daily work in an Aiga.^[1][5]

Being a fa'afafine is said to be thoroughly enjoyable by this group. Many would state that they "loved" engaging in feminine activities as children, such as playing with female peers, playing female characters during role play, dressing up in female clothes, and playing with female gender-typical toys. This is in contrast to women who stated that they merely "liked" engaging in those activities as children.^[1] Some fa'afafine recall believing they were girls in childhood, but knew better as adults. In Samoa, there is very seldom ridicule or displeasure towards a biologically male child who states that they are a girl. For instance, one study showed only a minority of parents (20%) tried to stop their fa'afafine sons from engaging in feminine behavior. Being pushed into the male gender role is upsetting to many fa'afafine. A significant number stated that they "hated" masculine play, such as rough games and sports, even more than females did as children.^[1]

Te Ara estimates that there are 500 fa’afafine in Samoa, and the same number in the Samoan diaspora in New Zealand.^[6]

Notable fa'afafine

• Cindy of Samoa – Samoa's first fa'afafine celebrity, who was a finalist on the New Zealand reality show Stars in Their Eyes in 2008. Cindy lives in New Zealand and performs all over the South Pacific.^[7]
• Edward Cowley aka "Buckwheat" – a popular performer and television personality from Australia.
• Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann – a medical professional, Justice of the Peace, and gay activist from New Zealand. In the 2001 New Year Honours, Pulotu-Endemann was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Public Health.
• Shigeyuki Kihara – a contemporary artist whose work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions art galleries around the world. Shigeyuki. Her solo exhibition, Shigeyuki Kihara: Living Photographs (2008-9), was the Metropolitan Museum of Art's first exhibition of contemporary Samoan art.
• Marion Malena – a multiple beauty pageant winner and performer from American Samoa currently living in Seattle.^[8]
• Dan Taulapapa McMullin – a contemporary artist and poet based in Los Angeles, California.^[9]
• Jaiyah Saelua – American Samoan soccer player. Saelua was the first fa'afafine player to compete in a men's FIFA World Cup qualifier. Saelua was the subject of a UK documentary Next Goal Wins.^[10][11]
• Vena Sele – a fa'afafine pioneer and activist from American Samoa who founded the Miss Island Queen Pageant. Sele is also the first fa'afafine to publish an autobiography documenting experiences as the highest-ranking fa'afafine of her time.^[12]
• Memea Eleitino Ma'aelopa Siania – a community activist and mentor in Education, and Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Fictional fa'afafines

• Vili Atafa, a character in the Pasifika play A Frigate Bird Sings by Oscar Kightley, David Fane and Nathaniel Lees^[13]
• Brother Ken, a fictional character in New Zealand animated series bro'Town, voiced by David Fane.
• "Sugar Shirley", a character in Sia Figiel's novel Where We Once Belong.

References

• Besnier, Niko. 1994. "Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space". In Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History. Gilbert Herdt, ed. pp. 285–328. New York: Zone.

External links

• Montague, James. 2011. "Transgender Player Helps American Samoa to First International Soccer Win". New York Times, November 25, 2011.
• Schmidt, J. 2001. Redefining Fa'afafine: Western Discourses and the Construction of Transgenderism in Samoa. Intersections, Issue 6.
• Taulapapa McMullin, Dan 2013. "Coconut Milk". University of Arizona Press, 2013.
• Taulapapa McMullin, Dan. 2011. Fa'afafine Notes: On Tagaloa, Jesus, and Nafanua In Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature. Edited by Qwo-Li Driskill, Chris Finley, Brian Joseph Gilley, and Scott Lauria Morgensen. pp. 81–94. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
• William Kremer (18 February 2014). "The evolutionary puzzle of homosexuality". BBC News. Retrieved 18 February 2014.