Faʻatama

Faʻatama (Samoan pronunciation: [faʔatama]; lit. 'in the manner of a man') are natal females who align with a third gender or masculine gender role in the Sāmoan Islands.^[1]

Faʻatama

Etymology	Samoan prefix faʻa-, meaning "in the manner of" + tama, meaning "boy"
Classification	Gender identity
Other terms
Synonyms	Faʻatane, fakatane, fakatama
Associated terms	Faʻafafine, two-spirit, trans man, whakatāne, Māhū
Demographics
Culture	Samoan
Regions with significant populations Polynesia

Faʻatama do not enjoy the same levels of acceptance as their Faʻafafine counterparts, but there is some growing support.^[1]

Terminology

The word faʻatama includes the causative prefix faʻa–, meaning "in the manner of", and the word tama, meaning "boy", "young man", or "male" depending on context.^{[2][better source needed]}

A precursor to the word faʻatama is the word faʻatane, though it has fallen out of use. It is a cognate of related words in other Polynesian languages, such as Māori: whakatāne.^{[citation needed]}

The Rogers

The Rogers Club is an organisation based in Samoa, which provides support for LGBTQ+ communities.

The Rogers - Faʻatama Samoa

Formation	2018
Headquarters	Apia, Samoa
President	'Ice' Vanila Galumulivai Ualegalu Heather
Website	The Rogers Club on Facebook

The Rogers is named in honour of 'Mama Roger' (Toʻotoʻoaliʻi Roger Stanley, former president of the Samoa Faʻafafine Association, SFA) and the group was subject of the film The Rogers of Samoa (2020).^{[3][better source needed]}

The leader of the group is 'Mr. Ice' (Vanila Galumulivai Ualegalu Heather).^{[4][better source needed]} Ice is also the faʻatama representative on the SFA Executive Council 2025.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Faʻatama

• Vanila Galumulivai Ualegalu Heather 'Mr. Ice', founder and president of The Rogers^{[4][better source needed]}
• Zetta Tiatia, vice-president of The Rogers^{[citation needed]}

Faʻatama in poetry and fiction

• Faatane shooting pool in Apia bars, Fa‘a Fafine Poem Number Twenty-Two by Dan Taulapapa McMullin^[5]
• Matalasi, Matalasi by Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa^[6]