If you would like to know more about Niko Besnier go to one of his professional profile pages here.
The basis of Besnier’s discussion is his ethnographic examination of transgendered males in Tongan society. “Like all larger societies of Polynesian region, Tongan society counts in its ranks a substantial number of men who ‘act like women’, a category Tongans refer to as fakaleiti, leiti, or fakafefine.” (Besnier 2003, p. 280) Fakaleiti translates into something like “in the manner of a women”. (281) However, transgendered male Tongans refer to themselves as leiti – without the prefix – insisting that they are ladies. (Transgenderism is located in other areas of the Pacific. From what I understand, Fakaleiti or fakafefine are somewhat similar to Samoan fafafine and Hawaiian mahu.)
I was appreciative that Besnier mentions that the basis for the definition fakaleiti is based on stereotypes and gives a warning saying, “One can utilize these stereotypes to provide a working definition of category, bearing in mind at all times that they are stereotypes, and hence that they are prone to distortions, underlain with covert moral judgments, and subject to socio-political manipulation.” (284) Mainstream Tongans stereotype fakaleiti to do ‘women household work’ such as cleaning (laundry, washing dishes), other mild house maintenance work (cooking, flower gardening, child teaching, care for elderly), and posses ‘feminine jobs’ (seamstresses, hairdressers). Men are stereotyped to do more strenuous work such as subsistence gardening, wood chopping, and construction.
In general fakaleiti are associated with modernity and social change, which is linked to their language use. In Tonga, English and Tongan are the prevalent languages. However, English is considered 'prestige language' that "dominates employment, education, modernity, transnationalism, contacts with the outside world, and new forms of socio-economic hegemony." (283) The fakaleiti are known for switching to use English instead of Tongan (code switching), no matter what level of English proficiency that individual might have. "English has become a trademark of fakaleiti identity in the islands, as it encodes a cosmopolitanism and modernity which many leiti find useful to foreground in their daily lives." (281) For example, English is the primary language used in the Miss Galaxy Pageant and contestants go by usually "female-sounding" or "exotic"names in English that sound similar to their traditional names: 'Suzie' instead of 'Sosefo'. (290) Besiner also adds that because the leiti utilize English so frequently, "leiti position themselves on the side of prestige and worldliness, and in opposition use of Tongan and its localized connotations."(291)
Some other links you might find interesting:
Here is a documentary created by a LGBT US Peace Coprs Alumni about the Miss Galaxy Pageant in Tonga. Here is the documentary creator’s description of his experience with transgendered males in Tonga.The author notes, “Today’s Tongan society has mixed feelings about their place, while Christian and conservative majorities frown upon them. ”
The article mentions that fakaleiti are often associated with marginality and poverty in society.
Here is the “Status Report for LBGT in Tonga” by ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association)
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Besnier, Niko. 2003 Crossing genders, Mixing Languages: The linguistic construction of transgenderism in Tonga. In Janet Holems and Miram Meyerhoff, eds. Handbook of Language and Gender: 279-301. Oxford: Blackwell.
7 comments:
Thanks for the great summary Kary! I found your blog to be very interesting. Before reading the article and your blog I never thought about language having an effect on re-creating gender. I've heard of the Samoan fafafine and of course here in Hawaii, mahu. However, I didn't realize how they contribute to language. I noticed though that the stereotypes of fakaleiti are similar to Hawaii mahu. The fact that they associate leiti with being "feminine" and doing what would be considered "woman's work." Here in Hawaii someone that is considered to be mahu is often thought in this way as well.
As far as language, I thought it was quite interesting that leiti are the one's who are using English. As you mentioned, English is becoming one of the prominent languages in Tonga for education, work, and modernity. It seems to be that these leiti are what is becoming modern in Tonga and at the same time they are making English and the Tongan language modern as well. The article mentions how leiti are able to change their context while speaking.
I think that the leiti being able to change the way they speak does give the Tongan language modernity. Also, although there are stereotypes, the leiti seem to be interpreting or developing a new way to look at language.
It is interesting to learn more about the diversity that exists in the Pacific especially through language. Last semester in Communications we had a guest speaker that talked about the origin of trans-gendered communities in Hawaii. Mahus were for entertainment purposes only and were found mostly in Waikiki. It seems like the majority of this group came from Polynesia; through their physical appearance and language. I’m not sure if there are transgendered communities in other regions in the Pacific, but I know homosexuality is not heavily favored. In all aspects of life, everyone is equal. Diversity exists in the Pacific.
Great post! I was always somewhat aware of the transgendered Pacific, mainly Polynesia, even before I moved out here. Back home, I watched about two or three documentaries on television about the mahus in Hawai'i and the fafafine in Samoa. I always thought they were interesting and quite the people to mingle with because of their often humorous and witty remarks, which were always in English when I heard them.
I thought it was interesting to see that the fakaleiti in Tonga are associated with modernity and social change, especially because of their use of English. Many of my encounters with transgendered Polynesians included them speaking English, even if it was amongst themselves. Although being transgendered may be looked down upon by many, it is nice to see that the fakaleiti are using a language that is seen as prestigious and dominant.
Great Summary! Re-creating gender through language is a topic that Niko Besnier highlights. Even though transgendered males exist behind the scenes, society tends to avoid the facts that Polynesian regions have a large number of these males. I find this article interesting throughout Polynesian transgendered males play a hugh role in language today. In tongan Society people refer to these men who prefer to be feminine as "fakaleiti" which translate as, "in the manner of a woman." But transgendered male Tongans refer to themselves as leiti which sounds like lady in English. Today, you have a choice to fill the option of male or female or transgendered on many applications. Similar counts in its ranks a substantial number of fakaleiti remain in Hawaiʻi known as mahu are developing a new language of their own. In the mahu community many are taking classes in foreign language.
The Tongan leiti somewhat remind me of the gay rights movements that occurred about 50 or so years ago in the US. They are both groups of people that are looked down upon in ways because of stereotypes that are perpetuated by others.
To add on to what Kiri said, I also think they are the ones speaking English in Tonga because it was mentioned that women were thought to speak better English because they study harder in school and are talkative by nature. The article also mentioned that men that speak "too much" English can risk compromising their masculinity in the eyes of society. So it would make sense that the leiti are trying to use English throughout the course of their conversations to seem more like women and less like men.
Thanks for the great post, Kary! I thought this was a very interesting article, especially because of the way it shows language being used as a commodity again. Knowledge of English as a second language is something often used to show that the speaker went to a good school, or traveled abroad, or that their family could afford to give them a private language tutor (my experience of this is from South Korea, which has noticeably numerous amounts of after-school private language academies), but it is usually not connected with gender identity in the way that Besnier's article shows English speaking is in Tonga.
He states that "English has become a trademark of fakaleiti identity in the islands, as it encodes a cosmopolitanism and modernity which many leiti find useful to foreground in their daily lives." I was curious about this, since it seems like fakaleiti are not some modern or recent phenomena in Tongan society- and given that they show similarities to Hawaiian "mahu" and Samoan "fafine" transgendered groups, they seem to have a deep-rooted presence in Polynesian society. Why shouldn't fakaleiti be seen as part of being genuinely Tongan along with other signifiers like high culture tapa-cloth and mats, "ceremonies affirming hierarchy and kinship" and the Tongan language?
I thought this article was so interesting, and you summarized it perfectly! I had no idea that one's English speaking suggests femininity in Tonga. What I did find interesting and was hoping to find more about was the categories in which the fakaleiti's are in. This article really made me think about gender roles here in America and in other areas of the world and how we could compare the transgendered Tongan society from an anthropological stance. Would you say people are more accepting of transgenders here in America or in Tonga? Or is it the same depending on the area you were raised? I found out recently that we have a transgendered exhibit on campus. The way transgenders live their lives are very interesting. If you want, check it out or ask!
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