Despite civil rights movements in the continental United States starting in the 1970s, Asian American women, and especially Native Hawaiians, experienced the triple oppression of racism, sexism, and patriarchy (Tzu-Chu Wu, Judy). In Hawai’i, colonialism eroded women’s statuses in an originally egalitarian society (Kehaulani Kauanui, J.). In the 1970s, Native Hawaiian perspectives were sidelined by both white feminists and other Asian American feminist groups that didn’t recognize the colonialist, nationalist, and socioeconomic factors that oppressed them. Incorporating Native Hawaiian feminism into mainstream American feminism requires recognizing not only the privileges from which mainstream feminists benefit, but also the ways in which Hawaiian societal structure and conceptions of gender and sexuality diverge from the continental United States’ definitions.
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Questions
What American systems were at play in the changes Hawai’i underwent during American Settler Colonialism?
How are ‘mahu’ portrayed in this PBS’ documentary?
How does ‘mahu’ culture in Hawai’i compare to contemporary LGBT culture on the continental U.S? Does making this comparison minimize Hawai’i’s cultural significance?
Why do you think many Hawai’ians do not know about the overthrow or are misinformed about it? What does this show us about the oppressive construction of history?
What is the relationship between gender oppression and imperialism?
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Matrilineal Society: What was Hawaiian social structure like before the US came in?
What is “mahu”?
Wong-Kalu, Kumu Hina. “PBS HAWAII [sic] PRESENTS: A Place in the Middle.” Aired Nov 12, 2015, on PBS Hawai’i.
*(2:32 min for mahu)
Our PBS video introduces the concept of “mahu,” the idea of gender fluidity and how an individual embodies male and female qualities, and its importance in Hawaiian society.
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How did the advent of US colonization change things?
How does Hawaiian society consider gender and sexuality differently from the continental United States, especially in terms of binaries and societal structure?
Kauanui, J. Kēhaulani. "Native Hawaiian Decolonization and the Politics of Gender." American Quarterly 60, no. 2 (2008): 281-87.
This article discusses how Hawai’i’s previous egalitarian and matriarchal societal structure seemingly causes the island’s feminist activism to be superseded by nationalist activism. Kēhaulani argues that considering gender oppression and imperialism together is crucial to decolonization discourse.
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...feminist assertions within the Hawaiian nationalist movement are silenced, by male and female activists alike, but not because Native Hawaiian feminism is seen as irreconcilable with Hawaiian cultural norms; instead, feminism is typically viewed as unnecessary and superfluous. I suggest that this view is based on the fact that there are so many Native Hawaiian women in leadership positions within the movement.
Kauanui, 282
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How did the advent of US colonization change things?
How does the Second Hawaiian Renaissance’s legacy of nationalism and cultural revival distinguish its goals from the continental United States’ social movements in the ‘70s?
Revilla, No'u. 2017. “Ua mohala: notes on remembering our queen.” WordPress.
Revilla’s blog post reflects on the lasting impact of colonialism and Queen Lili’uokalani’s illegal overthrow and discusses Hawai’ians’ continued activism towards reclaiming their culture. We learned about the overthrow in Week 2, and placing our prior knowledge within the context of this unit’s focus on Hawai’i’s gender and nationalist activism will help our class advance our previous discussions.
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What does this mean for the future of Native Hawaiians?
How are schools in Hawai’i thinking about mahu and gender identity today?
Carol E. Robertson. 1989. “The Mahu of Hawaii [Sic].” Feminist Studies 15 (2): 313–18.
Robertson’s article discusses the concept of mahu and allows us to come full circle in their understanding of Hawaiian’s historical gender constructions, as well as see how mahu continues to be a crucial part of Hawaiian societal structure and cultural activism today.
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