ABSTRACT
Popular images and narratives of the sensuous Polynesian female dangerously obscure and mask the unspoken challenges and complexities of female sexuality in Pacific contexts (Sua’ali’i 2000). The common and somewhat dated associations of the South Pacific as a place of “free love” and the South Pacific female as promiscuous, exotic, and erotic minimize the stringent codes of conduct many of these females face as they develop their sexualities (Tupuola 1994, 2000). I am mindful of the plethora of literature and studies about the Samoan female and the impressions they give, whether intentional or not, of ongoing perceptions and assumptions about sexuality in Samoan societies. The sexual development of the young Samoan female is commonly discussed within the context of universal adolescent theories, while Mead’s portrayal of the Samoan girl as sexually free and permissive remains a popular narrative and stereotype of the Samoan female adolescent and sexuality (Côté 1994; Freeman 1983; Holmes 1987; Mageo 1998; Mead 1943; Schoeffel 1995; Shore 1981). While a lot of literature about the Samoan female has been useful in making sense of the Samoan culture and the complexities of sexuality for the
Samoan female, very few of the works ask the Samoan women themselves or include the voices of the Samoan female in their arguments and perspectives. Furthermore, it is not very often that literature or texts about Samoan female sexuality are written about or discussed publicly by the Samoan female (Tupuola 1994, 1998).
