Faʻatama


Faʻatama or fa’afatama are natal females who align with a third gender or masculine gender role in the Sāmoan Islands.
Faʻatama do not enjoy the same levels of acceptance as their Faʻafafine counterparts, but there is some growing support.

Terminology

The word faʻatama includes the causative prefix faʻa–, meaning "in the manner of", and the word tama, meaning "boy", "young man", or "male" depending on context.
A precursor to the word faʻatama is the word faʻatane, though it has fallen out of use. It is a cognate of related words in other Polynesian languages, such as Cook Islands akava’ine, Niuen fakafifine, Tongan fakaleiti, and NZ Māori: whakawāhine.
Exponents point out that Pacific island third and fourth genders, while non-binary, do not align neatly with similar Western concepts. While others explain that even the categorisation of faʻatama and faʻafafine as a third or fourth gender is a simplification of gender identity. There is also a preference among the community to use these traditional and established terms rather than Western terms in advocacy.
Together, faʻatama and faʻafafine constitute 1-5% of Samoa's population.

Associations

Samoa Faʻafafine Association

The Samoa Faʻafafine Association is the lead organisation in Samoa for LGBTQ+ communities.

The Rogers Club

The Rogers Club is the first dedicated association of faʻatama. The group is named in honour of 'Mama Roger'. The group was subject of the short film The Rogers of Samoa.

Notable Faʻatama

  • Vanila Galumulivai Ualegalu Heather founder and president of The Rogers Club
  • Zetta Tiatia, vice-president of The Rogers

Faʻatama in poetry and fiction