Performing Polynesian Masculinities in American Football: From ‘Rainbows to Warriors’

Tengan, Ty P. Kāwika; Markham, Jesse Makani

doi:10.1080/09523360903466768

Cited by 55 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…As Connell and Messerschmidt suggest, hegemonic masculinity does not 'correspond closely to the lives of any actual men' but rather 'express[es] widespread ideals, fantasies, and desires' (838). Connell's concept has proved productive in research on men and masculinities across Oceania: in nationalist struggles and movements for cultural revival (Jolly 2008b;Walker 2005;Tengan 2008aTengan , 2008b; in the context of world wars and continuing militarism in the region (Dvorak 2008;Camacho & Shigematsu 2010;Camacho 2011); in studies of Hawaiian and Māori players of football and rugby (Hokowhitu 2004(Hokowhitu , 2008Tengan & Markham 2009); and apropos men who identify as homosexual or gay and the diverse regional expressions of gender crossing (George 2008;Besnier & Alexeyeff 2014;Teaiwa 2014; see Schmidt this volume).…”

Section: The Hegemony Of Hegemonic Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men of War, Men of Peace: Changing Masculinities in Vanuatu

Jolly¹

2016

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

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The first European observers in the archipelago we now call Vanuatu characterised Indigenous men as martial warriors. Such observations occluded the diversity of Indigenous masculinities and the violence inherent in colonial processes of exploration, and later dispossession, 'pacification' and the imposition of colonial law. Indigenous relations between men were grounded in ascribed hierarchies of seniority and either achieved or ascribed hierarchies of divine power. Ideally more senior and higher 'men of peace' were seen to eclipse younger, lower 'men of war', but creative and destructive aspects of masculine power were often co-present in Janus-face formations. In surveying the longue durée of changing masculinities in Vanuatu we can witness complex reconfigurations associated with Christian conversion, the 'labour trade', commodity economy and state politics. The American military presence during the Second World War was a pivotal moment in such historical reconfigurations. As against the colonial masculine hierarchy of white mastas and black boes, it generated idioms of racial equality and fraternity between black men and white men and fuelled movements for independence. This is in stark contrast with the historical experience of another Pacific archipelago, Hawai'i, a state of the United States and a major base for the US military securing what some Kānaka Maoli see as an occupation of their homelands. A comparison of these two Pacific archipelagos highlights how Indigenous masculinities are historically formed and transformed in the context of the race relations of different colonialisms.

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Section: The Hegemony Of Hegemonic Masculinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men of War, Men of Peace: Changing Masculinities in Vanuatu

Jolly¹

2016

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

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“…Hawai‘i is the birthplace of surfing and the principle proving ground for young surfers harboring visions of popular recognition or professional fame (Walker, 2011). Yet such language of conquest, proving oneself on the heralded waves of Oahu’s North Shore, feeds larger flows of “(neo)colonial” subjugation that have marked Hawai‘i’s engagement with the U.S. mainland, Japan, Australia, and other popular surfing locales, shaping the tone and tenor of interaction between the varying groups of surfers crowding the major surf breaks (Tengan & Markham, 2009, p. 2412). In short, surfing is “not just a sport that attracts the foreign tourist gaze but also an integral part of Hawaiian cultural resistance and renaissance” (Jolly, 2007, p. 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fake Meets Soul: Division Among Hawai‘i’s Japanese Surfers

Christensen

2020

Journal of Sport and Social Issues

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This article examines the Japanese surf community in and around Honolulu, Hawai‘i. I argue that a variety of factors, notably socioeconomic status and access to wealth, interpretation of popular media depictions that surround surfing, and a desire to project a “cool” bodily image, result in division within this community between those labeled as either “fake” or “soul” surfers. A division exacerbated by anger and frustration among Japanese soul surfers in Hawai‘i at the more pervasive presence of fake surfers. This division creates wider complications with the sociopolitical complexities governing the larger surfing community’s organization. The result is a contentious and sometimes confrontational mix delineated along lines of personal wealth, commitment to surfing, and adaptation to life in Hawai‘i that reveals culturally influenced understandings of how self-image and sporting commitment are cultivated and maintained. Further complicating the picture is the cultural significance given surfing in Hawai‘i as an influential component of native Hawaiian identity and means to resisting colonial incursion. By articulating these divisions of community around surfing as a nuanced and culturally weighty pursuit, I show the often hidden complexity governing the sport and its associated communities across Hawai‘i’s hallowed surf breaks and beaches.

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“…Polynesian males, especially Samoans, are praised for their masculinity (Tengan & Markham, 2009). The recruiting station in Pago Pago, American Samoa's capital, was (White & Mensah, 2007).…”

Section: Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Pacific Islander student success in higher education through culturally sustaining leadership

Martinsen¹

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Performing Polynesian Masculinities in American Football: From ‘Rainbows to Warriors’

Cited by 55 publications

References 22 publications

Men of War, Men of Peace: Changing Masculinities in Vanuatu

Men of War, Men of Peace: Changing Masculinities in Vanuatu

Fake Meets Soul: Division Among Hawai‘i’s Japanese Surfers

Supporting Pacific Islander student success in higher education through culturally sustaining leadership

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