The Fa’afafine of Samoa [Basic Information]

** Explained in the notes

** [point 1] In traditional [and post-modern **[point 2] Samoan society (alongside American Samoan and Samoan Dysphoric communities) the Fa’afafine are a recognised third gender identity— and non-binary gender role; are acknowledged as being an integral part of Samoan culture and —[through Sociological and Anthropological study]—an estimated 1-5% of Samoans (and those within Polynesian dysphoria) identify as Fa’afafine.

According to SBS news there are up to 3000+ Fa'afafine currently living in Samoa, as opposed to the 500 living in New Zealand (and a similar amount living in Samoa), as had been previously suggested in the ‘Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand’.

— The Fa’afafine are assigned male at birth— though, in a way of which are viewed as being unique to the Polynesian islands, they explicitly embody feminine and masculine gender traits, which range from hyper-femininity to conventional masculinity.

— A ‘Western’ theory— created and popularised by Anthropologist Margaret Mead, an avid writer in the realm of Polynesian social and cultural knowledge; suggested that if a family had more boys than girls (or not enough girls to help with ‘women's duties’) — male children would be chosen to be raised as Fa'afafine.

However these generalisations have been criticised as being Eurocentric and outdated, due to the defining nature of gender roles explained by Mead (an American woman from the 1920s) and the guise of Eurocentric (i.e. ‘white’) biases that stemmed from Colonial-era Anthropology. Moreover, it is difficult to classify the concept of the Samoan third gender in the of Western culture, as said societies do not fully acknowledge categories such as ‘transgender’ and ‘ homosexual’, unlike those created to classify males and females in Western society, and, moreover, Samoans [generally] reject many of these , leading to the separate Fa’afafine gender identification.

** Notes:

— The recognition of this third gender is not a recent occurrence:

— Colonialism impacted upon social opinion during the modernist period [industrialisation era, i.e. 17th-19th centuries]—alongside attempts of cultural decimation and the enforcement of imperialist thought led to [small scale] dissimilation of opinion amongst Samoans, however, said opinions been generally restored to their previous standard of cultural knowledge. However, Pre-Christian Samoans accepted and acknowledged that every individual, man or woman, had a separate role in society. Hence, it is still acceptable in the present day for a male child to be feminine. Historically and culturally, Boys who display effeminate behavioural markers during their childhoods are recognised as being Fa’afafine, who are fully accepted within their families and society.

References and citations:

Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978, Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation. New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1928.

Documentaries and articles:

The Fa’afafine of Samoa| https://youtu.be/pmmWroAFxzg]

Information on the Fa’afafine| https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/samoa/articles/fa-afafines-the-third-gender/]