The Fa'afine
SAMOA | Monday, 6 April 2009 | Views [5811]
In traditional Samoan society, there is a certain elasticity regarding gender roles. Both men and women wear lava lavas (skirts) and gender tends to be defined by the the kind of work being done more than anything else; fishing, hunting, building vs. cooking, cleaning etc. When it comes to kids growing up within the relaxed, fun-loving, matriarchal extended families, it seems that male children with feminine tendencies feel free to become 'one of the girls' - helping around the house, dancing, singing and even wearing mum's makeup. Historically, in larger families with lots of boy children, the youngest may even be encouraged to cross over to help out mum.
But, it seems, the real contribution of these 'Fa'afine' shows itself around puberty. In a society where frisky young boys are denied access to chaste young girls, it's perhaps no surprise that a large proportion of young Samoan males have their first sexual encounter with a Fa'afine.
While the Fafa's have long been a part of Samoan village life, times change, and so have they. Many have now moved to Apia, the capital city, where their behaviour and dress has gradually become more overt, more liberated, more... tranny. Much like the ladyboys of Thailand, they now have their own nightclub and dance show, although that's where the similarity ends... there's no mistaking the fact these gals are guys, they are seriously chunky.
So are they homosexuals? Transvestites? Transexual? While it's very easy to get tangled up in tags, maybe the clue is in the name; Afine is the Samoan word for woman, and Fa'afine means literally 'in the manner of a woman'. Gay, trapped in a man's body, or just happy to be pretending, who cares? The Fa'fa's provide a welcome splash of colour to this mixed up mother of a shook up world.
Tags: apia, faafine, ladyboy, samoa
