PACIFIC – In the Pacific, it’s not all about Caitlyn Jenner – Samoans in particular are having their own conversation about transgender role models.

An open letter written by the world’s first transgender woman to play in a Fifa World Cup football qualifier match – American Samoan Jaiyah Saelua – has caused a stir in the Pacific community. The 26-year-old said many young Samoans are fascinated by celebrity US Olympian Bruce Jenner’s recent transformation from a man to a woman – but the former decathlon gold medallist is still just a “stranger”.

“A lot of people in Polynesian culture praise famous people for breaking boundaries,” Saelua said. Jenner is being called “brave and courageous” by many Pasifika people who don’t necessarily support the fa‘afafine transgender concept in their own communities, she said.

While not easily translated into English terms, fa‘afafine are Samoan males who identify as women, and are brought up as females. There are similar terms in other island nations, for

example ‘fakafefine’ in Tonga.

They can also still play male roles, and be known as males, but embrace a feminine sexuality or “spirit”. The Samoan word means “way of the woman, or womanly,” said Saelua. Following reality star Jenner’s public debut as Caitlyn in recent weeks, Saelua’s open letter on the subject of transgenderism in Samoa and the Pacific has provoked some homophobic and hypocritical views about Samoa’s fa’afafine society, when it was published in Suga, the Samoan and Pacific young women’s magazine, earlier this month.

Even though fa‘afafine is supposed to be a positive term, “being one” made Saelua an “easy target” for name calling on the football field, especially by other island teams. “The Samoan humour is understood to be very crude,” said Saelua.

“But sometimes people joke about fa’afafine to a point where they cross the boundary, and it almost becomes bullying. I used it as motivation to play harder and tackle harder,” she said. “We must understand that joking about a fa’afafine is not a means of support. Understand them first.”

New Zealand-born Samoan, Jaycee Tanuvasa, 21, who identifies as a woman before being a fa’afafine, said the Caitlyn Jenner topic has generated a lot of discriminatory views. “Looks like the Pacific community are more on the verge of homophobia,” she said. The Aucklander calls it “hypocritical” that males who act like females are accepted in Samoan society, but they aren’t allowed boyfriends or to be gay.

“They exploit you, they let you be feminine but they can’t let you date a guy,” she said.

Tanuvasa said Pacific youth had been concentrating more on what Caitlyn Jenner looked like, rather than talking about the transformation as a cause for acceptance and tolerance. “For the Pacific generation it’s harder for them to see the depths of the situation,” she said. “These youth are sitting there saying ‘oh she’s so gorgeous’.

“It’s overshadowing the more important issues, which is coming out, and finding your truth, and knowing who you are.

“The generation now just looks at the vain stuff.” Tanuvasa started fully embracing her feminine side while at high school, which was tough since she attended an all-boys school. Her “coming-out’ as a woman was helped by conversation with family.

“Just wearing eyeliner will bring up a conversation in your family, but I feel like it’s a risk worth taking, even though you might get a hiding before you go to school for wearing eyeliner.”

Tanuvasa’s whole family were involved in the discussions of her sexuality, she said.

When she wore a dress to her sister’s birthday party, and it was generally accepted by the family, it was the validation for her that she would be a woman from then on, said Tanuvasa.

Religiously, she is Mormon and the dynamic between her sexuality and her church can be confusing. Some bishops tell her to “come to church, it’s okay” but others dislike her, which is actually an improvement in the culture.

“It used to be ‘I hate gays’ or ‘no gays’,” she said, “But now I feel like the hatred is more of a personal preference.”

Fa‘afafine have existed in Samoa, and in other Pacific islands, as a normal and valuable part of society for at least a century.

So how can fa’afafine be both respected and rejected at the same time? The influence of Christian religion and Western gender divides conflicts with the Samoan culture, says public health expert Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann. The 64-year-old was born in Samoa but lives in Wellington. He is a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and strongly identifies as a fa‘afafine.

“I’m Catholic – that doesn’t stop me from challenging the homophobia and the sexism in the Catholic church,” he said.

He has found that Christian churches, including modern denominations, are still rife with sexism. “So you need to step back and ask, ‘Is this a Pacific view, or is this a colonised view?’

“We are a very colonised people. Even Pacific men will accept the fa‘afafine as a bit of a character, a bit of an entertainer, but not necessarily as someone who can be a politician, can be a leader. They will put you in a category they think you should be in.”

He is concerned Pacific people knew all about Caitlyn Jenner, but didn’t know any fa‘afafine role models. “The fa‘a Samoa (the Samoan way of life) is entrenched in ‘aiga or family,” he said. “The Christian family appears to be something that excludes fa‘afafine members.

Suicide statistics are linked to Pacific youth who are having difficulty with their sexuality, he said. He hoped more discussions about sexuality within the Pacific community would help support fa’afafine and their families.

In her letter in Suga magazine, Jaiyah Saelua said: “Respect is said to be the foundation of the Samoan culture, and that includes respect for fa‘afafine. Fa’afafine who are respected by their families and community are able to overcome obstacles more easily and realise their abilities to reach their highest potentials earlier in life. These fa‘afafine become very crucial members of society.

“A million transgender women can be visible in their societies and it truly helps when those women are well-known but change comes from society members who do not understand or tolerate. They are the target.

They exist within our Pacific island communities, and I strongly feel that this is a crucial time for these lessons to be introduced to them. Pacific means peace. Let the world learn from the people who hold the true meaning. I love you my Tagata Pasifika. Love one another. Love fa‘afafine.”