Faʻafafine

Faʻafāfine (Samoan pronunciation: [faʔafafine]; lit. 'in the manner of a woman') are natal males who align with a third gender or feminine gender role in the Sāmoan Islands. Faʻafāfine are not assigned the role at birth, nor raised as girls due to a lack of daughters, as is often claimed in western media. Rather, their femininity emerges in early childhood, and Sāmoans recognize them as distinct from typical boys.

Faʻafāfine are androphilic (attracted to males) and are usually very feminine. They comprise up to 3.5% of the natal male population, similar to the number of androphilic natal males in the west.

Most self-identify as faʻafāfine, rather than men, while a small number identify as women. However, they recognize that they are distinct from females.

Faʻafāfine enjoy relatively high levels of acceptance in Sāmoa. They can be seen in all areas of Sāmoan society, whether assisting as caregivers or working in government. Sāmoa's former Prime Minister Malielegaoi spoke publicly about the value of faʻafāfine in Sāmoan society.

The word faʻafāfine includes the causative prefix faʻa–, meaning "in the manner of", and the word fafine, meaning "woman". It is a cognate of related words in other Polynesian languages, such as Tongan: fakaleiti or fakafefine, the Cook Islands Māori: akava'ine, and Māori: whakawāhine. Ultimately, Western terms like gay and transgender overlap but do not align exactly with Samoan gender terms found in the traditional culture of Sāmoa.

The Sāmoan slang word mala (devastation) is a less-common term for faʻafāfine, originating in fundamentalist-influenced homophobia and transphobia.

Strong evidence points to Samoa being under matriarchal rule for centuries before contact with Europeans. Queen Salamasina, holder of four paramount chief titles, ascended the throne in the 16th century through the shrewd maneuvering of the powerful female chieftains around her. Samoa continues to value the leadership roles of women and third gender people. There is no restriction on the transfer of chiefly titles to women or fa'afafine, and there is a substantial list of past and present faʻafafine chiefs.

The history of faʻafāfine is difficult to trace. Nafanua, the female warrior and chief of Samoan early history, is sometimes held up as an icon of faʻafāfine. Since the 1980s, the Sāmoan diaspora has given faʻafāfine a higher profile outside Samoa.