Fafafine Pageant

There is a very strange part of Samoan culture that I have yet to share with people. Dad, you may want to skip this entry. You’ve been warned….

Despite the religious beliefs here, transvestites are an accepted part of the population. They are called “fafafines” (pronounced fah-fah-fee-nays), which literally translates to “like a woman.” At first, it was a bit shocking to have your bank teller be a man dressed as a woman, but as it is everywhere, you just get used to it. I now have an intern helping me with my public survey that is a fafafine. Fafafines even go to church, dressed in the typical white dresses that women wear, and sing in the choir.

On Saturday, I got invited to a fafafine pageant. Given that there is not a lot to do here, I was actually quite excited to be going out on a Saturday night. And how often does a person have a chance to see a transvestite pageant in the South Pacific?

I invited my good friend, Carol, and we went with a few other friends. The pageant was held in the Pago Pago Community Center. When we arrived, the place was already packed. Yes, hundreds turned out for the biggest fa’afine pageant of the year. This is the final pageant to crown “Mizz Corona”. The pageant was not only sponsored by Corona, but also Chicken of the Sea tuna. Think about that the next time you eat your tuna!

As soon as the first fafafine walked onto stage, the whole audience was laughing and shouting and it went on like that all night. The people in the audience were almost more entertaining than the contestants!

Like a regular beauty pageant, there were several different events like evening gown and the talent competition. But thankfully, no swimsuit competition! One of the stranger events was the “HE look.” The contestants came out dressed as men. This shouldn’t have been weird, considering that they really are men. But it was like a man acting like a woman trying to act like a man…. hmm, that made sense in my head.

Samoan people are generally quite large, and fafafines are no exception. It was a bit disturbing seeing these huge Amazonian-looking women strutting down the stage. The over-the-top performances and the energy in the audience created almost an out-of-body experience for me. I just kept thinking, “Where am I???” Samoa truly is a unique place.