Gender on the edge: transgender, gay, and other Pacific islanders

Abstract

GENDER ON THE EDGE: TRANSGENDER, GAY, AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS Edited by Niko Besnier and Kalissa Alexeyeff Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014; 378 pp. ISBN 978-988-8139-27-9The 1990s were marked by a spate of sustained ethnographies of non-western transgendered and other non-heteronormative populations (e.g., Johnson, 1997; Kulick, 1998; Nanda, 1990; Prieur, 1998; Williams, 1992/1986) and texts (edited or sole-authored) which discussed instances of these identities and behaviours in various locales and/or times (Feinberg, 1996; Herdt, 1993; Nanda, 2000). Since then there has been a relatively steady stream of journal articles and monographs in the area, both anthropological and from other disciplines. Gender on the edge: Transgender, gay, and other Pacific Islanders represents the first edited collection that focuses specifically on Pacific trans and other non-normative gender identities, an approach that is particularly suited to this geographic area, as the instantiations of non-normative genders and sexualities on the various island nations share certain features, but are also unique to their own cultural, political, and economic contexts.While this collection is the work of 14 different authors, the individual pieces are bound together by two fundamental aspects. Firstly, non-normative identities are discussed in relation to their own cultural context. Much writing on non-western transgenderism positions the participants as somehow 'strange', implicitly comparing them to western models of sex/ gender/sexuality, and also frequently isolates non-western transgendered peoples and practices 'as a separate category to be studied independently from other dynamics in society and culture' (p. 10). However, within their respective cultural contexts, most instances of non-western transgenderism are relatively 'normal', and these authors acknowledge this in various ways, with one of the central aims of the text being 'to understand non-heteronormative practices in terms of their social, cultural, political, and historical contexts' (p. 10). Secondly, the influence of globalisation and migration has had a significant impact on non-western transgendered identities - this is particularly so in the Pacific, where the population is notably transitory. Editors Kalissa Alexeyeff and Niko Besnier are careful to make explicit the fact that 'foreign-influenced' instantiations of non-heteronormative identities and practices are not 'inauthentic'. The book is marked by a number of discussions in which more 'traditional' models of non-heteronormativity are contrasted with those which may be seen as more 'modern', but in all instances care is taken to ensure that the more 'traditional' model is not privileged as more 'authentic' by the respective authors (even if it is by those being discussed).Rather than relying on the term 'transgender', in the introduction Besnier and Alexeyeff refer to the populations being discussed as 'non-heteronormative', and the various contributors do not always discuss practices that could be termed 'transgenderism'. Possibly as a result of attempting to address the scope that this framework sets up, the introduction does feel somewhat short on content, and overly full of post-structuralist 'buzzwords'. Specific gaps are identified by the editors - the literature is notably short on work that is grounded in Papua New Guinea (although this volume does have one chapter discussing Papua New Guinea); there is a dearth of material on FtM transgenderism and female same sex sexuality (briefly discussed in this volume); and those who are normatively gendered themselves but have a preference for sexual partners who are transgendered remain a lacunae in the field.The book is divided into three sections. The first of these - 'Historical transformations' - comprises three chapters which focus on Tahiti (Deborah Elliston) and Samoa (Reevan Dolgoy and Penelope Schoeffel). Elliston and Dolgoy both focus on the ways in which global influences have resulted in shifts in expressions of transgenderism in the respective locales. …