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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 6th, 2009
Suffering from record low tourism, some organizers in Tahiti want to tap into a new market, gay travelers. From the Age:
Tahiti is promoting itself as a gay-friendly tourist destination for the first time, to help boost the tropical island’s ailing visitor numbers.
The Pacific nation has organised its first openly gay “rainbow party” for wealthy gay tourists from around the world in a bid to bolster tourism, Tahiti Presse reports.
Perhaps those who read French will know more from the source article, but it appears that while Tahiti does not have a pro-gay history, they’d certainly love to have your tourist dollars and will treat you much better than Jamaica.
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Ben in Oakland
May 6th, 2009
Polynesia had a very gay positive history. Hawaii, which I especially knoew about, had the ‘aikane, which depending on how you wish to translate it, means either bosom buddy, in the least suggestive translation, to the literal ‘ai (sex) and kane (man). Transgender was also well accepted in the mahu.
Until, of course, the christians brought their peculiar morality. Tonga and Samoa are highly homophobic places, and are also the few places that are remarkably still polynesian. I do not know the status there of mafu (mahu in Hawaii).
Mark Twain, as always, said it best, tohugh I don’t remember the exact quote: “imagine those people living in those beautiful islands of eternal summer, before the missionary, living and dying and never knowing there was a Hell.”
Lou Donohoe
May 6th, 2009
Ben: I believe this is what y’all remember:
“Nearby is an interesting ruin–the meager remains of an ancient temple–a place where human sacrifices were offered up in those old bygone days…long, long before the missionaries braved a thousand privations to come and make [the natives] permanently miserable by telling them how beautiful and how blissful a place heaven is, and how nearly impossible it is to get there; and showed the poor native how dreary a place perdition is and what unnecessarily liberal facilities there are for going to it; showed him how, in his ignorance, he had gone and fooled away all his kinsfolk to no purpose; showed him what rapture it is to work all day long for fifty cents to buy food for next day with, as compared with fishing for a pastime and lolling in the shade through eternal summer, and eating of the bounty that nobody labored to provide but Nature. How sad it is to think of the multitudes who have gone to their graves in this beautiful island and never knew there was a hell.”
– Mark Twain, “Roughing It”
Dave Hughes
May 6th, 2009
We just returned from a one-week Atlantis all-gay cruise that started and ended in Tahiti, to which the French article refers. The last evening (Friday, May 1), the locals organized a party for the passengers at one of the local bars, which is probably the “rainbow party” to which the article refers.
News of the gay cruise had been reported in the local media and chatted about on the island, but we noticed no negative reaction whatsoever. In fact, while riding on “Le Truck” (public transit in Papeete), one woman motioned to my husband, inquiring as to whether we were a couple. When he replied affirmatively, she gave us the thumbs-up.
One afternoon, anthropologist Mark Eddowes gave a fascinating lecture on the history of same-sex relationships and transgenderism in Polynesia, which was overall very accepting.
Olivia also hosted a lesbian cruise on the same boat, the Regent Seven Seas’ “Paul Gauguin,” a few weeks prior.
Tahiti is a nice place to visit. The people are famous for their friendliness and hospitality, which we were offered just like anyone else. The only downsides are that it is very expensive and the journey to get there can be long and tiring.
Patrick
May 6th, 2009
The Polynesian Islands have traditionally been more open about sex and varieties thereof than Western society. I’ve spent considerable time in the Pacific and have never heard a single never comment about gays, etc. Personally, other than location for the East Coast and Southerners, I don’t know why people would go to the Caribbean when they can go to the Pacific. Just my preference of course.
Ben in Oakland
May 7th, 2009
Thank you, lou. that was exactly it. I used to have the complete works of MT, and having an excellent memory for things literary, used to quote him at length. Unfortunately, when i bought my house 11 years ago, I didn’t have enough room, and got rid of close to 1000 books or more, including most of my paperbacks.
Another of my favorite quotes from MT, regarding Virginia City in its heyday: “It was no place for a Presbyterian– and I did not remain one for long.”
Pender
May 7th, 2009
My boyfriend and I went on a two-week vacation to Moorea (the island next to Tahiti). It was gorgeous. We held hands everywhere, and there was nothing but friendly support from the French Polynesians. The most intolerance we encountered was when we sat near an elderly couple of vacationers from Arizona, and their only fault was in having difficulty understanding what my boyfriend meant when he said that we were “together.”
Great place, beautiful coral reefs, wonderful people. We stayed at Residence Linareva (google it) which is founded and run by a gay couple — highly recommended if a bit out of the way. The trip was fairly expensive but well worth the money.
Rob
May 7th, 2009
My native language is French, so I’ve always considered a vacation in a former french colony or a departement outremer. The former English colonies such as a Barbados and Jamaica are the worst.
Christopher Waldrop
May 8th, 2009
I can think of numerous reasons to visit Tahiti that have nothing to do with whether they’re accepting of same-sex relationships, but if they are (or if they’re generally moving in that direction) I’d call that very sweet icing on the cake.
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