| Classification | Gender identity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other terms | |||||
| Associated terms | Fakaleiti, Two-spirit, Trans woman, Akava'ine, Māhū, Pinapinaaine | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| Culture | Fijian | ||||
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| Part of a series on |
| Transgender topics |
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Vakasalewalewa are people from Fiji, who were assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Fiji this is understood as a traditional third gender identity, culturally specific to the country. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The term comes from Fijian and translates as "acting in the manner of a woman"; it has connotations of a traditional cultural way of life. A related modern term is qauri, which is used to collectively describe all non-heteronormative male-bodied people in Fiji. [7] Another related term is viavialewa, which translates as "wanting to be a women". [8]
Vakasalewalewa is included in the acronym MVPFAFF+ (mahu, vakasalewalewa, palopa, fa'afafine, akava'ine, fakaleiti or leiti, fakafifine, and other), coined by Phylesha Brown-Acton, to "enhance Pasifika gender diversity awareness in addition to the term LGBTQI". [9] [10]
Colonial historical records are silent on the role of vakasalewalewa in Fijian society. [11] However, like many other gender identities in Oceania, such as akava'ine in the Cook Islands or Fa'afafine in Samoa, that these identities existed and were valued in pre-modern Fiji. [12] [11] Activist Shaneel Lal argues that prior to colonisation, vakasalewalewa were integral to native Fijijan society. Lal claims that colonisation stripped Fijians of their rich queer identities and conditioned them with homophobia, transphobia and queerphobia. [13]
According to Joey Joleen Mataele, many vakasalewalewa work in hospitality industries. [3]
In Geir Henning Presterudsten's study of qauri communities, they reported that many rejected the label of vakasalewalewa, believing it to be "old-fashioned" or "restrictive". However, people who ascribed to vakasalewalewa found greater acceptance in Fiji, than those who identified as qauri. [11]
A fakaleitī is a Tongan individual assigned male at birth who has a feminine gender expression. The term fakaleitī is made up of the prefix faka- and the borrowing lady from English. Fakaleitīs themselves prefer to call themselves leitī or ladies.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transgender topics.
Māhū in Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures are third gender people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan fakaleiti and Samoan fa'afafine. Historically the term māhū referred to people assigned male at birth (AMAB), but in modern usage māhū can refer to a variety of genders and sexual orientations.
Faʻafafine are people who identify themselves as having a third gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. A recognised gender identity/gender role in traditional Samoan society, and an integral part of Samoan culture, faʻafafine are assigned male at birth, and explicitly embody both masculine and feminine gender traits in a way unique to Polynesia. Their behaviour typically ranges from extravagantly feminine to conventionally masculine.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Fiji have evolved rapidly over the years, however, LGBT people may still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. In 1997, Fiji became the second country in the world after South Africa to explicitly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Constitution. In 2009, the Constitution was abolished. The new Constitution, promulgated in September 2013, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. However, same-sex marriage remains banned in Fiji and reports of societal discrimination and bullying are not uncommon.
Girmitiyas, also known as Jahajis, were indentured labourers from British India transported to work on plantations in Fiji, South Africa, Eastern Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Caribbean as part of the Indian indenture system.
Akava'ine is a Cook Islands Māori word which has come, since the 2000s, to refer to transgender people of Māori descent from the Cook Islands.
Amao Leota Lu is a Samoan fa’afafine, who is a performance artist, poet and community activist.
Binabinaaine, or pinapinaaine, are people who identify themselves as having a third-gender role in Kiribati and Tuvalu, and previously in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands which reunited the two archipelagoes. These are people whose sex is assigned male at birth, but who embody female gendered behaviours.
The Te Tiare Association (TTA) is the LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation in the Cook Islands. It works to celebrate the country's 'akava'ine, akatututane and LGBT communities.
Toʻotoʻoaliʻi Roger Stanley (1976–2018) was a Samoan faʻafafine activist, who was President of the Samoa Faʻafafine Association from its foundation in 2006 to her death.
Phylesha Brown-Acton is a Niuean fakafifine LGBTQ+ rights activist. In 2019, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit to recognize her work with LGBTQ+ communities from the Pacific countries.
Fakafifine are people from Niue, who were born assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Niue this is understood as a third gender, culturally specific to the country.
FAFSWAG is an arts collective of Māori and Pacific LGBTQI+ artists and activists founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 2013. They explore and celebrate the unique identity of gender fluid Pacific people and LGBTQI+ communities in multi-disciplinary art forms. In 2020 FAFSWAG was awarded an Arts Laureate from the New Zealand Arts Foundation, and they also represented New Zealand at the Biennale of Sydney.
Shaneel Shavneel Lal is a Fijian-New Zealand LGBT rights activist, columnist and political commentator. Lal is best known for advocating for the ban of conversion therapy in New Zealand.
Amanaki Lelei Prescott-Faletau is an actor, writer, dancer, choreographer, producer and director of Tongan descent, living in New Zealand. As a playwright, she became the first fakaleitī to have her work published in New Zealand with Inky Pinky Ponky. This play was awarded Best Teenage Script (2015) by New Zealand Playmarket. As an actor, she was awarded best performance at the 2015 Auckland Fringe Festival for Victor Rodger's Girl on the Corner. Her acting credits include The Breaker Upperers (2018), SIS (2020), The Panthers (2021), The Pact (2021) and Sui Generis (2022), in which she is also a writer for the TV series. Faletau competed as a dancer in the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in 2011 and has been a judge at the National Hip Hop Championships in New Zealand over several years.
Fiji does not recognise same-sex marriage, civil unions or any other form of recognition for same-sex couples.
Fijian New Zealanders are persons of Fijian descent or ancestry who reside in New Zealand. Fijians are one of the largest immigrant groups in New Zealand, and Fijian New Zealanders include Fijians of ITaukei, Indo-Fijian, Rotuman, and multiracial heritage. Most Fijian New Zealanders, regardless of ancestry, identify as Pasifika, due to their origins in Oceania, although some Indo-Fijian New Zealanders may identify as Asian New Zealanders. Fiji is the seventh-most common country of birth of immigrants to New Zealand, and in 2023, Fiji was the fifth-most common country of origin of those who immigrated to New Zealand that year.
