L'espressione è dell'etnologo e antropologo tedesco Ferdinand von Karsch-Haack, autore nel 1911 di un'opera, Das gleichgeschlechtliche Leben der Naturvölker ("Vita omosessuale dei popoli indigeni"), che, tra l'altro, riporta le testimonianze pubblicate dai viaggiatori ed esploratori europei nelle isole del Pacifico nel XVIII secolo. Cfr. (EN) Peripheral Desires: The German Discovery of Sex, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015, pp. 157-161.
Ne rilevano l'assenza dai racconti di viaggiatori e missionari diversi studiosi, fra cui Mageo, 1992, p. 443 e Schoeffel, 2014. (EN) Jeannette Mageo, Male Transvestism and Cultural Change in Samoa, in American Ethnologist, vol. 19, n. 3, 1992, pp. 443-459. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Un'originale teoria sull'assenza di riferimenti alla sessualità non eterosessuale a Samoa è quella proposta da Ferdinand Karsch-Haack in Das gleichgeschlechtliche Leben der Naturvölker, cit. in (EN) Robert Deam Tobin, Peripheral desires : the German discovery of sex, Philadelphia, Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2015, p. 159.
Ferdinand von Karsch-Haack, Das gleichgeschlechtliche Leben der Naturvölker, Munich, Reinhardt, 1911, pp. 24, 229-230, cit. in (EN) Peripheral Desires: The German Discovery of Sex, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015, p. 158.
Da quanto riporta Levy, per gli abitanti del villaggio la caratteristica distintiva di un mahu non è l'effeminatezza o l'orientamento omosessuale, ma lo svolgimento di "lavori da donna". Cfr. Levy, 1971, pp. 14-15. (EN) Robert Levy, The Community Function of Tahitian Male Transvestitism: A Hypothesis, in Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 1, 1971, pp. 12-21.
Fra gli elementi che avrebbero concorso a mantenere questa debole differenziazione, Levy indica la lingua tahitiana, nella quale - come nelle altre lingue polinesiane - non esistono declinazioni grammaticali di genere (articoli, sostantivi, pronomi). Questa argomentazione linguistica (cfr. Levy, 1971, p. 17), ripresa successivamente da altri autori, viene confutata in Besnier, 1994, p. 305. (EN) Robert Levy, The Community Function of Tahitian Male Transvestitism: A Hypothesis, in Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 1, 1971, pp. 12-21. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Secondo P.K. Thompson l'assegnazione di compiti diversi in base al sesso sarebbe stata introdotta dai missionari; in precedenza, egli sostiene, all'interno della cultura samoana la divisione del lavoro variava a seconda del contesto, della struttura della famiglia o della comunità. Cfr. Thompson, p. 38, nota 89. (EN) Pausa Kaio Thompson, Saili le tofa: a search for new wisdom: Sexuality and fa‘afafine in the Samoan context, New York, Columbia University, 2017. URL consultato il 4 marzo 2021.
doi.org
dx.doi.org
Besnier, 1994, p. 288. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, p. 308. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, p. 286. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, p. 300. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, p. 299. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, pp. 312-313. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, pp. 289-294. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Fra gli elementi che avrebbero concorso a mantenere questa debole differenziazione, Levy indica la lingua tahitiana, nella quale - come nelle altre lingue polinesiane - non esistono declinazioni grammaticali di genere (articoli, sostantivi, pronomi). Questa argomentazione linguistica (cfr. Levy, 1971, p. 17), ripresa successivamente da altri autori, viene confutata in Besnier, 1994, p. 305. (EN) Robert Levy, The Community Function of Tahitian Male Transvestitism: A Hypothesis, in Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 1, 1971, pp. 12-21. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, pp. 319, 326. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Besnier, 1994, pp. 326-327. (EN) Niko Besnier, Polynesian Gender Liminality Through Time and Space, in Gilbert Herdt (a cura di), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, Zone Books, 1994, pp. 285-338, DOI:10.2307/j.ctv16t6n2p.10.
Un accurato esame dei primi resoconti storici dei contatti tra uomini europei e samoani fino all'arrivo dei missionari, e un'analisi dei malintesi generati da questo incontro, a causa dello scarto esistente fra ciò che gli osservatori europei hanno "interpretato e concluso" sulla sessualità samoana, rispetto a ciò che hanno effettivamente "visto e descritto", si trova in: (EN) Serge Tcherkézoff, "First contacts" in Polynesia : the Samoan case (1722-1848) : Western misunderstandings about sexuality and divinity, Canberra, Australian National University, 2008.
Si stima che il 98% della popolazione professi la regione cristiana. Secondo i dati del Censimento 2016, i Congregazionisti rappresentano il 29% della popolazione; i cattolici il 18.8%, i mormoni il 16.9%, i metodisti il 12.4%, i membri delle Assemblee di Dio il 6.8%, gli avventisti del settimo giorno il 4.4%; altri gruppi religiosi il 12%. Cfr. (EN) Samoa 2018 International Religious Freedom Report (PDF), su state.gov. URL consultato il 30 marzo 2021.
In un sondaggio realizzato fra i giovani nel 2005 è stato rilevato che il 21,8% dei partecipanti maschi aveva avuto rapporti sessuali con un uomo, il 14,7% negli ultimi 12 mesi (WHO 2006). Cfr.: (EN) Heather Worth, Patrick Rawstorne, Hilary Gorman, Michelle O'Connor e Scott McGill, Pacific Multi-Country Mapping and Behavioural Study: HIV and STI Risk Vulnerability among Key Populations – Samoa (PDF), su sph.med.unsw.edu.au, 2016, p. 12. URL consultato il 30 marzo 2021.
(EN) Transvestism (transgenderism) (PDF), in Pacific islands. An encyclopedia, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2000, pp. 416-417. URL consultato il 3 febbraio 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale il 26 aprile 2019).
(EN) Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Andrea Shaw (a cura di), Sex, Lies, and Anthropologists: Margaret Mead, Derek Freeman, and Samoa (PDF), in Research frontiers in anthropology, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, 1994. URL consultato l'11 febbraio 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale il 30 marzo 2014).
(EN) Samoa Office of the Ombudsman/National Human Rights Institutions 2018, National Public Inquiry into family violence in Samoa (PDF), su ombudsman.gov.ws, p. 342. URL consultato il 5 marzo 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale il 7 giugno 2021).
(EN) International Lesbian and Gay Association, 33rd Human Rights Council session (PDF), su upr-info.org, 21 settembre 2016. URL consultato il 10 marzo 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale il 24 febbraio 2021).
(EN) Joyetter Feagaimaali'i-Luamanu, So'oalo's passing sad day for fa'afafine community, su Samoa Observer, 20 gennaio 2018. URL consultato il 13 dicembre 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale l'8 giugno 2021).
(EN) A brief history of SOFIAS, su assofias.webs.com. URL consultato il 10 marzo 2021 (archiviato dall'url originale il 27 novembre 2022).
worldcat.org
Kaltenborn. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Kaltenborn (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Dolgoy 2000, p. 7 (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, The Search for Recognition and Social Movement Emergence: Towards an Understanding of the Transformation of the Fa'afafine of Samoa, University of Alberta, Canada, 2000, OCLC654214382.
Dolgoy 2000, pp. 7-8. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, The Search for Recognition and Social Movement Emergence: Towards an Understanding of the Transformation of the Fa'afafine of Samoa, University of Alberta, Canada, 2000, OCLC654214382.
(EN) G.B. Milner, Fafine, in Samoan-English Dictionary, London, Oxford University Press, 1966, p. 52, OCLC865940902.
Shore, p. 336. (EN) Bradd Shore, Sexuality and gender in Samoa : conceptions and missed conceptions, in Sherry B. Ortner, Harriet Whitehead (a cura di), Sexual meanings. The cultural construction of gender and sexuality, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 192-215, OCLC49756395.
Tcherkezoff, 2014, p. 116. (EN) Serge Tcherkézoff, Transgender in Samoa. The cultural production of gender inequality, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge:Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 115-134, OCLC864709525.
Tcherkezoff, 2014, p. 117. (EN) Serge Tcherkézoff, Transgender in Samoa. The cultural production of gender inequality, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge:Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 115-134, OCLC864709525.
Tcherkezoff, 2014, pp. 115-116. (EN) Serge Tcherkézoff, Transgender in Samoa. The cultural production of gender inequality, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge:Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 115-134, OCLC864709525.
Kaltenborn, p. 59. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Kaltenborn, pp. 102, 103, 110. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Shore. (EN) Bradd Shore, Sexuality and gender in Samoa : conceptions and missed conceptions, in Sherry B. Ortner, Harriet Whitehead (a cura di), Sexual meanings. The cultural construction of gender and sexuality, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 192-215, OCLC49756395.
Schoeffel, 1979. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Daughters of Sina. A study of Gender, Status and Power in Western Samoa, Australian National University, 1979, OCLC153973940.
Kaltenborn, pp. 85-86. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Farran, 2014. (EN) Sue Farran, Outwith the Law in Samoa and Tonga, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 347-370, OCLC864709525.
Schoeffel, 2014, p. 79. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Vedi interviste in Kaltenborn e (EN) Ashleigh McFall, A comparative study of the fa'afafine of Samoa and the whakawahine of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Shore, p. 344. (EN) Bradd Shore, Sexuality and gender in Samoa : conceptions and missed conceptions, in Sherry B. Ortner, Harriet Whitehead (a cura di), Sexual meanings. The cultural construction of gender and sexuality, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 192-215, OCLC49756395.
Schoeffel, 1979, p. 203. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Daughters of Sina. A study of Gender, Status and Power in Western Samoa, Australian National University, 1979, OCLC153973940.
Kaltenborn, pp. 65-66. (EN) Benedicte Kaltenborn, The fa'afafine, gender benders in Samoa. On Cultural Construction of Gender and Role Change, University of Oslo, 2003, OCLC702145149.
Schoeffel, 1979, pp. 202-203. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Daughters of Sina. A study of Gender, Status and Power in Western Samoa, Australian National University, 1979, OCLC153973940.
(EN) Pulotu-Endemann, F. Karl e Carmel L. Peteru, Beyond the Paradise myth: Sexuality and identity, in Cluny Macpherson, Paul Spoonley, Melani Anae (a cura di), Tangata o te moana mui. The evolving identities of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Dunmore Press, 2001, pp. 122-136, OCLC968646617.
Schoeffel, 2014, pp. 86-87. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Ne rilevano l'assenza dai racconti di viaggiatori e missionari diversi studiosi, fra cui Mageo, 1992, p. 443 e Schoeffel, 2014. (EN) Jeannette Mageo, Male Transvestism and Cultural Change in Samoa, in American Ethnologist, vol. 19, n. 3, 1992, pp. 443-459. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Schoeffel, 1979, pp. 203-206. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Daughters of Sina. A study of Gender, Status and Power in Western Samoa, Australian National University, 1979, OCLC153973940.
(EN) Bradd Shore, Sexuality and gender in Samoa : conceptions and missed conceptions, in Sherry B. Ortner, Harriet Whitehead (a cura di), Sexual meanings. The cultural construction of gender and sexuality, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 192-215, OCLC49756395.
Schoeffel, 2014, p. 81. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
(FR) Arnold van Gennep, Les Rites de passage. Étude systématique des rites, Paris, 1909, OCLC559848807.
(EN) Reevan Dolgoy, The Search for Recognition and Social Movement Emergence: Towards an Understanding of the Transformation of the Fa'afafine of Samoa, University of Alberta, 2000, OCLC654214382. Parte del lavoro verrà ripresa e approfondita in un saggio pubblicato nel 2014 nell'opera collettanea Gender on the edge, vedi Dolgoy. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, "Hollywood" and the Emergence of a Fa'afafine Social Movement in Samoa, 1960–1980, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 56-72, OCLC864709525.
Dolgoy, p. 57. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, "Hollywood" and the Emergence of a Fa'afafine Social Movement in Samoa, 1960–1980, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 56-72, OCLC864709525.
Dolgoy, pp. 63, 71. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, "Hollywood" and the Emergence of a Fa'afafine Social Movement in Samoa, 1960–1980, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 56-72, OCLC864709525.
Una critica alle teorie funzionaliste è anche espressa da Drozdow‐St Christian; Tcherkezoff, 2014; Schoeffel, 2014. (EN) Douglass Drozdow‐St Christian, Elusive fragments: Making power, propriety and health in Samoa, Durham, Carolina Academic Press, 2002, OCLC469926909. (EN) Serge Tcherkézoff, Transgender in Samoa. The cultural production of gender inequality, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge:Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 115-134, OCLC864709525. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Drozdow‐St Christian, p. 30. (EN) Douglass Drozdow‐St Christian, Elusive fragments: Making power, propriety and health in Samoa, Durham, Carolina Academic Press, 2002, OCLC469926909.
McFall, p. iii. (EN) Ashleigh McFall, A comparative study of the fa'afafine of Samoa and the whakawahine of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Victoria, University of Wellington, 2013, OCLC871231667.
Schoeffel, 2014. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Representing Fa'afafine: Sex, Socialisation, and Gender Inequality in Samoa, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 73-90, OCLC864709525.
Schoeffel, 1979, pp. 203-204. (EN) Penelope Schoeffel, Daughters of Sina. A study of Gender, Status and Power in Western Samoa, Australian National University, 1979, OCLC153973940.
McFall, p. 25. (EN) Ashleigh McFall, A comparative study of the fa'afafine of Samoa and the whakawahine of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Victoria, University of Wellington, 2013, OCLC871231667.
Dolgoy 2000, pp. 153-154. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, The Search for Recognition and Social Movement Emergence: Towards an Understanding of the Transformation of the Fa'afafine of Samoa, University of Alberta, Canada, 2000, OCLC654214382.
Farran, 2014, p. 367. (EN) Sue Farran, Outwith the Law in Samoa and Tonga, in N. Besnier e K. Alexeyeff (a cura di), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, pp. 347-370, OCLC864709525.
Dolgoy 2000, pp. 157-160. (EN) Reevan Dolgoy, The Search for Recognition and Social Movement Emergence: Towards an Understanding of the Transformation of the Fa'afafine of Samoa, University of Alberta, Canada, 2000, OCLC654214382.