[transgendernews] [People/Travel] [HI, USA] Hot tranny Hawaii | Aloha art
Stephanie Stevens
Hot tranny Hawaii | Aloha art
By Daniel A. Kusner - Life+Style Editor
Oct 16, 2008 - 4:14:13 PM
Ohau — an American cultural paradise for 'tween genders
[Photo: FINE AND Fa'afafine: Shevon Matai and Tiare Fidao work the
camera on Queen's Surf beach in Waikiki. - DANIEL A. KUSNER/Dallas
Voice]
WAIKIKI — On a recent Sunday night, a white convertible pulls up to
the porte cochère of the Outrigger Hotel. In the front seat are Shevon
Matai and her cousin Tiare Fidao: two buxom ladies with hibiscus
flowers in their hair. We drive to nearby Kapiolani Park and head to
Queen Surf, Waikiki's "gay beach" where Shevon unfolds a hand-woven
blanket that's bigger than most studio apartments.
While the Hawaiian sunset dips into the Pacific horizon, my friendly
tour guides teach me how to correctly pronounce fa'afafine (fah-fah
fee-nay). It's a term from Shevon and Tiare's homeland: Samoa.
Fa'afafine roughly translates to "like a woman."
Although their tiny village is 2,600 miles southwest of the Queen's
Surf beach, Samoa and Hawaii are part of the Polynesian Islands chain.
Since Honolulu is Polynesia's largest urban sprawl, many fa'afafine
thrive on American soil. And these ladies are dramatically different
from their transgender sisters living in the mainland.
"In America, there's so much discrimination. It doesn't make any
sense," Shevon says. "In Samoa, we are treated with love, respect and
honor. 'Fa'fafine' isn't a disgraceful term. In fact, we are the
cornerstones of our families."
Shevon teaches Polynesian tribal choreography at the University of
Hawaii, where she's also getting her masters degree in English Second
Language. At the age of 7, she realized that she might be different
from her two brothers — and had more in common with her six sisters.
"There is no 'gay' in Samoa," Shevon tells me. "There's fa'fafine."
Before the London Missionary Society tried to merge its Biblical
beliefs into Samoan culture (circa 1840), the fa'fafine were always
thought to keep families united. In Samoa, they serve as
schoolteachers, choirmasters, babysitters, community service workers
and caregivers for elderly relatives. Since the fa'afafine understand
both the male and the female, they become a mutual connection between
genders. And like the "Miss Jay" coach from "America's Next Top
Model," fa'fafine instruct women how to be alluring and graceful. "And
we also teach the horny boys in our village how to fuck a woman,"
Tiare chimes in.
It's true, Shevon says. "But we don't have intercourse the way gay men
do: There's no penetration. We face each other, and cross our legs in
a certain way, and the man fucks us between our legs. It's wonderful."
Shevon says Samoan culture could never disown a family member because
they're gay. Since their island is only 27 square miles, it would be
difficult to stay out of each other's way. Samoan families are big —
where 10 or more siblings are common. So a clan with a fa'fafine or
two isn't rare.
Before arriving in Waikiki, my research told me that, depending on
birth order, some male members must become fa'fafine for the family's
sake — even if they're not homosexual or effeminate. Shevon says that
theory has been discredited.
Both Tiare and Shevon have lived and worked in the continental U.S.
and say they don't have much in common with drag queens or the
transgender community.
"In Samoa, we would never think of becoming 'showgirls.' In America,
transgender is considered 'fringe.' I grew up thinking I needed to go
to school and be a strong professional. Nothing less," Shevon says.
But Shevon and Tiare say American gay culture has influenced their
aspirations. They've both considered sexual reassignment surgery but
say they enjoy their original plumbing way too much.
"In America, everything has to be categorized. I just came across a
new term: 'non-op transsexual.' That's the most ridiculous thing I've
ever heard," Shevon says. "Transgender, drag, fa'fafine — they're all
older than American categories. Just look at daVinci's 'Mona Lisa.'"
Now in their fourth decades, Shevon and Tiare still dream about
starting families and marrying men — "But straight men. We're not
attracted to men who like other men," Tiare explains.
They mostly identify as women. But both Shevon and Tiare say their
brothers and fathers refer to them by their boy names. All the women
in the family call them by their fa'fafine names. Since the fa'fafine
are expected to take care of elderly relatives, what happens when
parents die? Because they can't marry, are their inheritance rights
forfeited?
"Not at all. After all, like our passports say, we are biologically
male. So in the eyes of the law, we are treated as men," Shavon says.
While fa'fafine are considered exotic creatures in the continental
U.S., they say one Samoan fa'fafine became famous for a while:
"Shalimar" Seiuli. Before her mysterious death (she fell from her
fifth floor apartment in Los Angeles), "Shalimar was famous as the
hitchhiking beauty whom Eddie Murphy picked up in his Toyota land
cruiser," Shavon says.
Hawaii also has a Polynesian term for "dual gender" individuals:
mahuwahine — mahu for short. That term is broadly used to refer to all
transgenders and even gays. However, the dual-gender mahus aren't as
fully accepted by society as their Samoan fa'fafine — especially when
it comes to securing professional work. But two famous and successful
mahu celebrities are making a big splash: Hawaiian native Candis
Cayne, who stars on "Dirty Sexy Money," and Oahu resident Thomas
Beatie, the married female-to-male transgender who became pregnant and
gave birth to a baby girl over the summer.
>snip<
These articles appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 17, 2008.
(c) Copyright by DallasVoice.com
http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_9933.php
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