News Article - South Pacific transgenderism

[raleighbelle]

This is a news article I saw today that I thought was very relevant to this forum.

Cross dressing and transexualism transends all cultures. In fact, in the South Pacific Islands, it is typical for nearly every village on some islands to have a male that is raised as a female, both in dress and in culture. And they are typically well accepted in the community.

[Eugenie]

Thanks for the short summary. It seems to be an interresting article. Could you provide a link to that article or at least the references?

Thanks
:hugs:
Eugenie

[Satrana]

Used to be typical. These days it is mostly a matter of choice if TGs or gays want to take advantage of the tradition of raising one son as a woman. BTW this was done so that the parents could have an extra helper around the home who would never be married so he/she could look after them in their old age, or become a nanny for other sibling's children etc. The helper would have the strength of a male but the sensitivity of a female.


Here is a link to a personal experience of one such person
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/news/article/47598/born-a-boy-in-samoa-living-as-a-woman-in-alaska/

and a short clip


Tafi’s life wasn’t like the stories she watched on re-runs of American talk shows as she grew up in Samoa. She never felt she was a woman trapped in a man’s body. She never felt shame.

Samoa is a tribal, communal society, different from America where individual desires rule. Samoan parents hold a powerful role and commonly influence their children’s decisions far into adulthood. Children don’t choose to be fa’afafine; their mothers decide for them.

At 5, Tafi, a sweet, outspoken child, began hoisting babies on her hip, filling bottles for her mother and helping with the dishes. Ropeta, a mother of eight, was pregnant or nursing for many years and welcomed Tafi’s help.

Tafi wasn’t encouraged to dress like a girl, but she gravitated toward her sisters’ clothing, playing dress-up in private. “I loved skirts, short skirts to be specific,” she said. “I always had to be pretty.”

At school, Tafi bonded with girls and other fa’afafine among her classmates and teachers. By third grade, most everyone called her Alicia. Her younger siblings, all girls, saw her as an oldest sister.

[Karren H]

Well I'm moving to the South Pacific!!! Love that movie!! But my idea of crossderessing is NOT a grass skirt and a couple coconuts... hehe

[DonnaT]

Yes, Samoa does have a long history of trans individuals. But did you know that it is against the law there?


Friday September 07, 2007
By Cherelle Jackson
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10462265


Despite fa'afafines being very much part of the Samoan culture, the
impersonation of a woman is still illegal under the Crimes Ordinance
1961 of Samoa.

Fa'afafines, otherwise known as transvestites, cross dressers or
homosexuals are deeply ingrained in the Fa'aSamoa according myths
and legends.

Lau Dr Asofou Soo a Professor of Samoan studies defined the
faafafine as: "Men who act like women, feel like women and tend to
do work done by women."

According to Samoan Dictionary by G.B Milner a fa'afafine is defined
it as "a feminine man or youth."

The Transgender website, which talks about transvestites in many
cultures, has an interesting definition drawn from Paradise Bent, a
documentary about Samoan faafafines.

"When it comes to gender, it seems there is a truly Samoan way of
seeing the world. Fa'afafines are boys who are raised as girls and
take on the domestic duties performed by women around the home,
raising the children, caring for the elderly, and bringing the
family together."

In addition to those roles, fa'afafines in recent years have
spearheaded health campaigns, the promotion of human rights issues
as well as dominating the fashion designing scene in Samoa.

This month saw more than 10 fa'afafines from around the Pacific take
part in the Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) conference held at the
SamoaTel conference room.

The vibrant and diverse personalities of the participants provided a
smooth edge to an otherwise taboo topic in the Pacific.

The objective of the Conference according to President of Samoa Aids
Foundation Mr Ken Moala is to create a network of organizations and
individuals from around the Pacific to lobby for and advocate in the
interests of the MSM community.

"The term (MSM) is very fluid, for want of a better term we are
trying to identify exactly who we are, there's various
terminologies, but the common objective is for intervention with
STIs and HIV/AIDS on how best we can protect ourselves and our
community," Moala said.

Part of the advocacy process, includes the influencing of "archaic"
legislation which discriminates against MSMs and fa'afafines.

Moala was asked if the network would focus on the Samoan legislation
which not only prohibits the impersonation of a woman, it also
contains anti-sodomy articles.

According to the 1961 Crimes Ordinance it is illegal for a male to
impersonate a woman with "the intent to deceive any other person as
to his true sex."

The article goes on to state that using typical female products,
accessories or "any other article intended by him to represent that
he is female or in any other way is impersonating or representing
himself to be a female."

The maximum penalty for such a crime is six months of imprisonment
or a fine not exceeding $200.00.

But this is not a major issue according to Moala.

"Regarding our own legislation, I have already been in contact with
the Attorney General's Office, the comment is that they need to be
repealed, because we do not live in a society which bans the
impersonation of women," Moala said.

According to the HIV/AIDS campaigner, it happens anywhere.

"The AG told me they would not enforce it because of our cultural
stance but to me that's not an issue, there's a lot of issues that
we should be concerned about and once of those is that were safe
here in Samoa."

Currently no fa'afafine or person has been charged under this law.

Copyright C2007, APN Holdings NZ Limited

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[DonnaT]

Interesting documentary titled Paradise Bent at http://www.reangle.com.au/

[raleighbelle]

I have to apologize! I had tried to put in a link from a news report on Yahoo about a transexual in asia and the challenges she is facing and how she is dealing with them. A lot we can relate to. But now I cannot seem to find that report on their site anymore.

As for Samoa, I am very surprised to hear it is illegal there. It is certainly very obvious there and on many of the other South Pacific islands, and there doesn't seem to be any real negative stigma attached.

[Gail Stauffer]

that article was about an individual that lives here in alaska, although I do not know of the person myself, at least she is out there wanting to be who she feels she is, I wish it was easier for me to feel that way, but not sure why, as I would love to be a girl myself!!

[Satrana]

It is weird to learn about the law in Samoa, however the last line says no-one has ever been prosecuted so obviously everyone ignores it. I am guessing the law was an attempt to squash this old tribal tradition by Christian groups, or to "modernize" society. Good for the Samoans to ignore that particular piece of intolerance.

[eleventhdr]

Ins't it amazing that just peerahps one of the so called most advanced coutries to come along in a very long long time is really one of the most backwrds in it's attemps to reason out and accept people's of all different kind's of realavance and acceptnace just can not seem to wrap it's head around the real fact's that there are all kind's of peeoples in this old world and for everyone that is suppose to be so different we really are not but we are deemed different strange or weird because we try to live out lifetime's trying to be accepted as what and who we really are but are not alowed to because there are people's who think they know better and try to razionaloze what they do fear and just can not accept as what is really quite normal and then there are what is called backward places but yet they can just get it and accept what is really quite acceptable indeed hmmm make's one wonder whio is really right in this old world.

Something to think about hmmm at least i try to anyway!

Suzy Ann!

[raleighbelle]

It is weird to learn about the law in Samoa, however the last line says no-one has ever been prosecuted so obviously everyone ignores it. I am guessing the law was an attempt to squash this old tribal tradition by Christian groups, or to "modernize" society. Good for the Samoans to ignore that particular piece of intolerance.

Yes, I think it was the Christian missionaries who tried to get that custom abolished, and I really didn't see any evidence of anyone trying to hide it or anything. It is very prevalent there - just about every community has at least one.

The interesting thing to me though, is that it appears these are not boys that were born feeling female, but ones who were reared from an early age (usually infancy) as girls.

[Satrana]

The interesting thing to me though, is that it appears these are not boys that were born feeling female, but ones who were reared from an early age (usually infancy) as girls. It is interesting because these cultures disprove the notion that gender identity is hardwired from birth and cannot be altered as boys raised as girls will accept their imposed gender role.


Ins't it amazing that just perhaps one of the so called most advanced countries to come along in a very long long time is really one of the most backwards ! Actually it is not so much the country but the fact that the three great interlinked religions -Judism, Christianity and Islam, are intolerant of gender and sexual diversity. Unfortunately large swaths of the world have been converted to these religions through conquest and missionaries so this intolerance is seen as normal by billions of people. However step outside the J.C.I. sphere of influence and you will find that most other religions and cultures have long recognized the existence of the inbetween "third sex" and integrated them into society. The South Pacific tradition is somewhat unique in that families actually assigned boys to be raised as girls, in other cultures it was an individual choice.