Story Pitch for Profile Piece

Although we were advised last class to not write about a friend or family member, I have decided to kind of go against that suggestion and write about my friend Mele. 

Some quick facts about her:

From Inglewood, California

A recipient of the Posse Foundation Scholarship and a first year at K

Self identifies as Tongan (her family is from a small island called Tonga in the South Pacific/Polynesia)

A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/Mormon)

The youngest of 6 kids and was raised by both parents

Her parents emigrated from Tonga over 30 years ago

In my initial interview with her I found out that there are four very important facets of her life that contribute to her identity:

- Faith

- Family

- Education

- Culture as a Tongan

We spent a long time talking about Tongan culture from her perspective and here are a few important aspects that I found really compelling:

-       Tongan culture is a Christian influenced culture

-       Education, God, respect for elders and family are highly valued

I was also really interested in how she described gender relations in her family:

-       There is an important tradition called Faka’Apa'Apa', “respect between genders.” Which in practice basically means that if you are a boy you shouldn’t be around girls and vice versa. So being a girl surrounded by boys is usually frowned upon. Mele grew up with four brothers and because of Faka’ Apa'Apa', she found it difficult to hang out with anyone other than her mom, who was a stay at home wife.

-       Growing up as a girl in Tongan culture meant constantly being over protected/parents were very strict about her going out as a girl.

-       However women are highly valued. The oldest sister of the father in her family is called the Fahu, and is treated like deity. Her aunt (father’s sister) is highly praised in the family and is “big stuff” according to Mele. In the Tongan tradition of giving, the Fahu often receives precious gifts from other family members.

-       There is also a tradition in which the oldest sister names the children of the oldest son and daughter in the family.

So based on this, I think I would like to explore/address Mele’s story of being a part of a Tongan household and the gender relations and/or “culture of family” that she grew up a part of and how she negotiated the complex gender dynamics of her own ethnic culture, and how that intersects with traditional gender and family relations in the U.S.