Samoan Queer Lives is a collection of personal stories from one of the world’s unique indigenous queer cultures. The first of its kind, this book features a collection of autobiographical pieces by fa`afafine, transgender, and queer people of Sāmoa, one of the original continuous indigenous queer cultures of Polynesia and the Pacific Islands.

Featuring 14 autobiographical stories from fa`afafine and LGBTIQ Samoans based in Sāmoa, Amerika Sāmoa, Australia, Aotearoa NZ, Hawai`i and USA. Includes a foreword and introduction by co-editors Dan Taulapapa McMullin and Yuki Kihara. Each story is accompanied by a portrait.

“I’ve never really tried to be either a girl or a guy. I’ve always been me. And I suppose being me is fa`afafine. Then, all of the expression I put in my work is I. It’s not colored by any gender of any kind. I’ve never been cautious of what is man or woman, how I see my perspective of any situation, and it was not ever politicised or in a contest where a fa`afafine or a man or a woman is treated in any way.”

Want to be kept up to date with new releases, in-store events and shop happenings?
Subscribe to the Unity Books Wellington newsletter by clicking here & filling in your details.