UI LGBTQA Office and Martin Institute screen film addressing “third gender”
Fa’afafines is a hard word to spell, a difficult word to pronounce and even more confusing for Americans to understand, yet it’s a common theme in the film, “Next Goal Wins.”
The movie is about the men’s American Samoan soccer team and how it seeks to redeem its reputation after suffering an embarrassing loss in 2001 against Australia. The team, which includes a fa’afafine-gendered player, is documented at practices and in the members’ personal lives as the team tries to gain international ground in the world of soccer.
Bill Smith
The movie will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday, at the Kenworthy Theatre. The movie is free for all and is co-hosted by the University of Idaho Martin Institute and LGBTQA Office.
Fa’afafines is a Samoan concept of “the third gender.” According to The Culture Trip, a travel and culture publication, the third gender has always existed and translates to “in the manner of a woman.”
According to The Culture Trip, “fa’afafines have a very specific role in Samoan society, an interesting juxtaposition when regarding transgenderism in Western society, which is yet to be widely accepted.” Also, Fa’afafines and Samoans believe it is a completely different gender than male or female and is not really related to terms like transgender or homosexual.
This interesting concept is one of the highlights of the movie.
Bill Smith, the director of the Martin Institute, said the institute studies and teaches about the causes of war and the conditions necessary for peace in the international system.
“That means that everything happening in the world is sort of in our bailiwick,” he said.
Smith said he heard about the film after it was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City and became interested in showing it to students.
“I was really intrigued by the premise because I knew what had happened to Samoa when this embarrassing soccer game happened,” Smith said. “This is sort of their tale of redemption. I really like looking at things off the beaten path, and American Samoan is that.”
Smith said he resonated with the film because it was a redemption story and addressed the issue of the third gender.
Julia Keleher, LGBTQA Office coordinator, said the movie is mainly about the American-Samoan soccer team, but the third-gender player is an important aspect. Keleher said showing this movie can bring awareness and acceptance to people in the audience.
“She’s a prominent player in that she’s a good player and she’s a part of their team,” Keleher said. “That’s what I really liked about what I’ve seen of the movie is that it’s not a big deal. She is with everyone else on that team, she plays to her fullest ability and she wants to be there for her nation.”
Keleher said the LGBTQA Office is looking forward to the partnership with the Martin Institute because the chance to work together is a rare occurrence.
Another interesting aspect of the movie, Keleher said, is that the fa’afafines player considers herself a woman, yet plays on a men’s soccer team.
“It’s fun to think about sports and LGBT issues,” she said. “When we talk about social expectations of sports in our society it’s very binary and I like this idea that she is a trans-woman and she is playing on a male soccer team, and playing in World Cup qualifying matches. That’s a huge accomplishment.”
Keleher said there are a significant number of transgendered students on the UI campus and she hopes the screening of “Next Goal Wins” sends a message of acceptance and normalcy when it comes to transgendered students.
“It shows another culture where this trans-identity is celebrated,” she said. “We do have a good group of students that identify within the transgendered umbrella. These students don’t fall within those male and female boxes.”
Danielle Wiley can be reached at [email protected]