article

Sluts and superwomen: the politics of gender liminality in urban Tonga

Ethnos62 (1-2)Published In 1997 • Pages: 5-31

By: Besnier, Niko.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of the various identities of transgendered men in Tonga's modern urban society. LEITĪ do woman's work in the household and service industries. Some do have sex with men. Besnier profiles two LEITĪ, who represent two extreme poles of behavior. One is a very industrious and matronly seamstress and clothes maker, and the other is a glamorous and feminine cross dresser. He also examines the stereotypes of LEITĪ and their resistance to such stereotyping. Rather than trying to type transgendered identities, Besnier argues that it is more worthwhile to examine the socio-cultural processes that shape their identities.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Homosexuality
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tongans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2006
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Polynesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard; 2004
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1977-1995
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1977-1995
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
NotesAdditional notes
Niko Besnier
Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-31)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
45053696
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tongans