Timeline of LGBTQ history in Fiji
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Similar to the faʻafafine of Samoa, the māhū of Hawaii, and the whakawāhine of New Zealand, Fiji has a traditional third gender population known as Vakasalewalewa. These individuals are assigned male at birth, but dress, act, and behave as women, and have traditionally been accepted by Fijian society.[1]
Colonial historical records are silent on the role of Vakasalewalewa people in Fijian society.[2] However, like many other gender identities in Oceania, such as akava'ine in the Cook Islands or fa'afafine in Samoa, these identities existed and were valued in pre-modern Fiji.[3][2] Accounts indicate that before colonization, Vakasalewalewa people were an integral part of native Fijian society and that post-colonization stripped Fijians of their queer identities and conditioned them with homophobia, transphobia, and queerphobia.[4]
20th century
1997
- Fiji codifies protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation into its constitution, becoming the second country to do so.[5]
