Faʻafāfine areandrophilic (attracted to males) and are usually very feminine.[4] They comprise up to 3.5% of the natal male population, similar to the number of androphilic natal males in the west.[5]
Most self-identify as faʻafāfine, rather than men, while a small number identify as women. However, they recognize that they are distinct from females.[4]
Faʻafāfine enjoy relatively high levels of acceptance in Sāmoa.[1][4] They can be seen in all areas of Sāmoan society, whether assisting as caregivers or working in government. Sāmoa's former Prime MinisterMalielegaoi spoke publicly about the value of faʻafāfine in Sāmoan society.[1]
The wordfaʻafāfine includes the causativeprefixfaʻa–, meaning "in the manner of", and the wordfafine, meaning "woman".[6] It is acognate of related words in otherPolynesian languages, such asTongan:fakaleiti or fakafefine, theCook Islands Māori:akava'ine, andMāori:whakawāhine. Ultimately, Western terms like gay and transgender overlap but do not align exactly with Samoan gender terms found in thetraditional culture of Sāmoa.
The Sāmoan slang wordmala (devastation) is a less-common term forfaʻafāfine, originating in fundamentalist-influencedhomophobia andtransphobia.[7]
Strong evidence points to Samoa being undermatriarchal rule for centuries before contact with Europeans.[8]Queen Salamasina, holder of four paramount chief titles, ascended the throne in the 16th century through the shrewd maneuvering of the powerful female chieftains around her. Samoa continues to value the leadership roles of women and third gender people. There is no restriction on the transfer of chiefly titles to women orfa'afafine, and there is a substantial list of past and presentfaʻafafine chiefs.[9]
The history offaʻafāfine is difficult to trace.Nafanua, the female warrior and chief of Samoan early history, is sometimes held up as an icon offaʻafāfine.[10] Since the 1980s, the Sāmoan diaspora has given faʻafāfine a higher profile outside Samoa.
Paul L. Vasey, Professor of Psychology at theUniversity of Lethbridge, has claimed that the existence offaʻafafine supports theevolutionary psychology hypothesis of a gene that directs kin-directed altruism, which proposes thatandrophilia could be passed down because it is societally advantageous to have non-traditional roles.[11] The hypothesis contends that the existence of androphilia may serve the evolutionary purpose of providingavunculate support for related kin, meaning that families that includefaʻafafine and members in other non-traditional roles, such as unmarried aunts and uncles, would have more time and resources to dedicate to the success of their kin.
The existence of a third gender is so well-accepted in Sāmoan culture that most Sāmoans state that they have friendships with at least onefaʻafāfine. However,faʻafāfine are not fully accepted in all parts of the community, such as by some fundamentalist Christian groups and traditional leaders.[citation needed]
Sāmoan popular culture views faʻafafine as hard-working and dedicated to the family, in the Sāmoan tradition oftautua or service to family. Ideas of the family in Sāmoa and Polynesia include all the members of asā, or communal family within thefaʻamatai family system.[12] Traditionally,faʻafāfine follow the training of the women's daily work in anaiga (Sāmoan family group).[13][14]Faʻafāfine state that they "loved" engaging in feminine activities as children, such as playing with female peers, playing female characters during role play, dressing in feminine 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. Somefaʻafāfine recall believing they were girls in childhood. In Sāmoa, there is very seldom ridicule or displeasure towards a biologically male child who states that they are a girl. One study showed only a minority of parents (20 per cent) tried to stop theirfaʻafafine children from engaging in feminine behaviour. Being pushed into the male gender role is upsetting to manyfaʻafāfine. A significant number stated that they "hated" masculine play, such as rough games and sports, even more than females did as children.[13]
Faʻafāfine have sexual relationships almost exclusively with men who do not identify asfaʻafāfine.[15] However, sexual relations between people assigned male at birth is a crime in Sāmoa.[16]
Society of Faʻafāfine in American Sāmoa and the Samoa Faʻafāfine Association
The Society of Faʻafāfine in American Sāmoa or (Samoan:Le Sosaiete o Faʻafafine i Amerika Samoa) (SOFIAS) describes itself as an organisation dedicated to balancing both Samoan values with western influences and aims to promote a positive attitude toward the Samoanfaʻafāfine community. It fosters collaboration betweenfaʻafāfine and LGBTQI+ communities in American Sāmoa, the Asia Pacific region, and the world.[17] TheMiss SOFIAS pageant has been held in Pago Pago, American Samoa, since 1979.[citation needed]
TheSāmoa Fa'afāfine Association (SFA), based in Apia, was founded in 2006. It works closely with government, churches, and youth organisations, supporting community projects for thefa'afāfine community, but also for elders and youth in Samoa. SFA is also active on the international level, working with the United Nations and Pacific regional NGOs, on behalf of thefaʻafāfine, transgender, and LGBT communities of the Pacific Islands. They also work with media organisations to promote an equitable representation offaʻafāfine.[18]
The SFA, withfa'afāfine lawyers Alex Suʻa and Phineas Hartson Matautia, have initiated legislative activity on issues ofLGBT rights in Sāmoa. Their efforts to repeal homophobic and transphobic laws implemented during the period ofNew Zealand colonial rule have met with partial success.[19] In 2013, the Samoan Government updated its criminal law in the Crimes Act 2013, including sexual offences. The 2013 changes included the decriminalisation of female ‘impersonation’, affirming the rights offa'afāfine. Notably, the term ‘sexual connections’ was defined broadly under section 50 to include oral and anal sex, and was drafted in a gender-neutral manner. However, section 67 continued to criminalise sodomy, meaning that although it is no longer a crime to be visiblyfa'afāfine, it is a crime for two people assigned male at birth to have sexual intercourse.[20] The maximum penalty for sodomy where both people are male and over the age of 16 is 5 years imprisonment.[21] The maximum penalty for keeping a place of resort for homosexual acts is 7 years imprisonment.[22]
Same-sex marriage, like homosexual intercourse, is still unlawful in Sāmoa, and despite legalisation in the U.S., it is still not recognised in the US Territory ofAmerican Sāmoa.[citation needed]
Edward Cowley a.k.a. "Buckwheat" – a drag performer and television personality based inAuckland, worked with New Zealand AIDS Foundation, champion bodybuilder.
Yuki Kihara – a contemporary artist whose work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions art galleries around the world. Her solo exhibition, Shigeyuki Kihara: Living Photographs (2008–9), was theMetropolitan Museum of Art's first exhibition of contemporary Samoan art. Kihara is co-editor of the 2018 bookSamoan Queer Lives.[23]
Marion Malena – a multiple beauty pageant winner[25] and performer from American Samoa currently living in Seattle. She hosts the Facebook group American Samoa: Through the Years.[26]
Dan Taulapapa McMullin – poet, painter, filmmaker. Artist book:The Healer's Wound: A Queer Theirstory of Polynesia, published by Pu'uhonua Society and Tropic Editions of Honolulu. Exhibitions and screenings at Honolulu Museum of Art, De Young Museum, Museum of Contemporary Native Art, Bishop Museum, Metropolitan Museum, United Nations, Museum of Modern Art. Collection of poems:Coconut Milk (American Library Association Top Ten LGBT Books of the Year).
Leilani Tominiko – first openly transgender professional wrestler in New Zealand.
Half-man half-girl, an unnamed character inAlbert Wendt's novelFlying Fox in a Freedom Tree (1979)
Brother Ken inbro'Town (2004–2009), a school principal[29]
Jerry the Faʻafāfine (2011), a thematic figure (influenced by the poetry of Taulapapa) in an artwork series byTanu Gago[30]
Muli and Pipi, in Dan Taulapapa McMullin's poem "The Bat" (1993), which received a Poets&Writers Award
Sinalela (2001), a fictional character in the short filmSinalela by Dan Taulapapa McMullin, awarded Best Short Film in the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival[31]
Sugar Shirley, a character inSia Figiel's novelWhere We Once Belonged (1996)[32]
^Taulapapa McMullin, Dan (2011). "Faʻafafine Notes: On Tagaloa, Jesus, and Nafanua".Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature. Tucson: University of Arizona Press:81–94.
^Saleimoa Vaai, Samoa Faa-matai and the Rule of Law (Apia: The National University of Samoa Le Papa-I-Galagala, 1999).
^abBartlett, N. H.; Vasey, P. L. (2006). "A Retrospective Study of Childhood Gender-Atypical Behavior in Samoan Faʻafafine".Archives of Sexual Behavior.35 (6):659–66.doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9055-1.PMID16909317.S2CID22812712.
^Danielsson, B., T. Danielsson, and R. Pierson. 1978. Polynesia's third sex: The gay life starts in the kitchen. Pacific Islands Monthly 49:10–13.
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