Fakafifine are people from

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

, who were born assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Niue this is understood as a

third gender Third gender or third sex is an identity recognizing individuals categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither a man nor a woman. Many gender systems around the world include three or more genders, deriving the concept either from ...

, culturally specific to the country.

Etymology

The term comes from Niuean and is composed of the prefix ''faka-'' (in the manner of) and the suffix -''fifine'' (woman) and is defined in ''Niue Language Dictionary'' as 'to behave like a woman' or 'to be effeminate'. A related term is ''fakataane'' which means 'to behave like a man'. Fakafifine is included in the acronym MVPFAFF+ ( mahu,

vakasalewalewa Vakasalewalewa are people from Fiji who were assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Fiji, this is understood as a traditional third gender identity, culturally specific to the country. Etymology The term comes from ...

, palopa, fa'afafine, akava'ine, fakaleiti or leiti, fakafifine, and other), coined by

Phylesha Brown-Acton Phylesha Brown-Acton (born February 1976) is a Niuean fakafifine LGBTQ+ rights activist. In 2019, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit to recognize her work with LGBTQ+ communities from the Pacific countries. Biograph ...

, to "enhance Pasifika gender diversity awareness in addition to the term LGBTQI".

Notable fakafifine

(born 1976), human rights activist.

References

{{Gender and sexual identities Gender in Oceania Gender systems Culture of Niue Third gender Society of Niue Indigenous LGBTQ culture