TransFun...

good evening fellow bloggers...sup?...okay, im doin fine here on the island of american samoa...its hot...but thats old news, aint it?...so, lets get to the interesting news...actually, it may not be that interesting...but yeah...

...(how'd you like that opening?...if that doesnt get people to want to read this blog i dont know what will!)...

all of the pictures in this blog entry were taken at the miss corona beauty pageant that i went to a couple of weekends ago...it was obviously a beauty pageant for drag queens...or transgendered boys...or fafafinas (as we like to call them in the big ol' A.S.)...it was actually alotta fun...the winner, or miss corona, is the one im standing with at the top...she definetly had the best performance of the night...i wouldnt necessarily say she was "beautiful" but she entertained the crowd like no other...ill explain some of the categories in the pageant as i write the blog...lemme just say though...drag queens can be hella entertaining!...funny and glamorous and talented...

oh, by the way, theres a ton of vidoe clips in this blog entry...choose some and watch'em...i know many of you dont have high speed, but you could always click on the link and then go do some laundry or wash the dishes or give yourself a manicure and then come back to your computer and the vid clip will be ready...try it and let me know whatcha think...

one of the categories was island wear...i think thats miss corona lookin sexy in her blue, flowered beach dress and sunny garden bonnet...(dont worry...im just playing along here...i didnt think she was sexy...but she totally thought she was...and thats whats so great about drag queens)...

the following video clip is of a performance that was done at the pageant...it was THE show-stopper of the night...oh, my gosh...she brought the house down with her perf of "whatever lola wants, lola gets"...the audience was laughing outta their chairs and screaming with glee and cheering in delight...as weird as it is, these drag queens brought happiness and joy and energy to the stage...and the joy and happiness and energy spread through the audience...the announcer at the beginning of the show told everybody that recording the pageant was illegal and anyone that did it would get a fine...well, i recorded anyway...but i had to kinda hide it...so, sorry for the crappy cinematography...it looks bootleg...but its still entertaining to watch...unfortunately, i didnt get her standing-ovation-worthy finale...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No-vH2OPgRo

the next clip is pretty much the same thing...a fafa dancing and singing to some cher...she even does the song shawn and i did at dana's wedding...and as much as i hate to admit this, i think her performance of the song is a little better than ours was...but oh well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUYr_jxcCbI

okay, so way back in the day i wrote a blog entry all about the transgendered people on island...well, many of my thoughts on the topic have really changed...one of the most significant revelations ive made are how they are treated on island...lets do a little before and after action for my opinions on the transgendered girls/boys in american samoa...

Before:

i said in the blog entry that i wrote a long, long time ago (one of the first ones, i think) that the transgendered people (or fafafinas), and theres many, many of them (more than ive seen and probably will ever see) on the island, are treated with respect and love and dignity...that they are treated almost like everybody else...they have good jobs (including teachers), theyre accepted in the churches (and play prominant roles in them), and the islanders treat them as true friends (my students were all very nice to them)...i even talked about how its viewed as tolerable for men to have sex with them...i believed they were a part of the community...that they were respected and valued...unlike the states, the transgendered people were allowed and maybe even encouraged to be who they wanted to be and not to be ashamed of that...

After:

well, let me put this in simple terms...ive changed my mind...i think all of the above is still somewhat true...but the biggest change of heart ive had deals with the notion of them being respected like everybody else...and thats simply, from what ive learned now, not true...sure, they have jobs and are accepted in their churches and people are friendly towards them...but theyre definetly not treated with dignity...ive actually experienced a lot of hatred towards them...not a violent kind of hatred but a quiet, subtle, and communicative hatred...ive heard many people talk about their disgust of them...or theyll talk down to them and treat them unfairly...its hard to think of a specific example...one glaring example is how many people refuse to call the transgendered boys "she"...they refuse to accept them (boys at birth) as girls even though they know that the "boys" want to be referred to as girls...to me, thats disrespect to them as humans...these fafas want to be considered and seen as and valued as girls...so, why dont people respect that?...or value that desire?...the reason why most people dont respect this gender the person has chosen is because they dont agree with it...which means they dont approve of the person...i think i was in a fantasy land before...now ive realized the confusion and hatred towards transgendered peeps...and, really, their confusion and hatred towards homosexuality as well...i could go on and on (theyre only seen as sexual objects and/or entertainers, theyre seen as jokes, theyre seen as misunderstood and confused and sinful, etc.), but i wont...its another complex issue on the island that cant be solved on a blog...even if its the best damn blog EVER!...

one of the best categories of the night was "mens wear"...yup, listen to this...the boys who were pretending to be girls then pretended to be boys...so, in other words, they were guys being dolls being guys...it was all very meta...very felicity huffman in transamerica...deep, man...oh, and it was also mad funny...i never saw a audience laugh so raucously...i kinda sat there with my mouth open...dazed and confused...it was odd...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPZV9jwLMU

Vent of the Week:

alright, so just last week our vice principle, mr. samoa samoa, made me infuriated...i dont know if ive ever been that angry before in my life...here's what happened in a nutshell...so, there i was like any other day teaching my class, when all of a sudden, mr. samoa samoa walked into my classroom and asked why one of the students was sitting on the table...you see, we were having a mock trial (a school district vs. adventures of huckleberry finn) and the table was being used as our witness stand...and the student sitting on the table was acting as a witness...well, after mr. samoa samoa came barging into the room and rudely interrupted the class with this question, i answered, "because thats where i want him to sit"...(sure, it sounded snotty, but i was pissed off that he walked into my classroom and assumed i didnt have control of my students)...he says, "well, why do you want him there?"...i was thinking "why does it matter?...who's the teacher here?...why am i being questioned in front of my class?"...i said, "cause we're having a court case and thats our witness stand"...then he says, "well, ive never seen a witness stand like that before"...oh, my lord, i was raging on the inside!...first he interrupts my class assuming i was letting my kids sit on tables and then he questions my teaching tactics and makes fun of them...as he walked out of the room after making this statement i said, "i didnt ask you"...the students loved it...and i did, too...i know, i know...it was unprofessional...but i was so angry at his unprofessional behavior that i had to say it...i had to stand up for myself...i dont know if he heard me or just ignored it...anyways, that whole day i was irate with the situation...and i was gonna talk to him or the principle about this event...but i never did...i just didnt want to deal with it...and i didnt want to make a big fuss out of it...i wanted to keep the peace and not start a conflict...typical joe...

now ive heard many stories of mr. samoa samoa doing this to other teachers...he goes on a power trip and loses his temper and will walk in on teachers and reprimand them for not controlling their students...remember, this is the guy who beats the kids here for punishment...he's also an ex-NFL player...he's tough and mean...i used to have respect for the man...but after that day, i lost all of it...i thought it was a completely unprofessional move on his part...if anything, wait til the bell rings and then talk to me...do not assume control over me in front of my kids...

well, the other day lisa had a issue with him...it wasnt the first time...i wont explain what it was but i decided to go and talk to him about why i was so angry with him last week...i told him i felt belittled and disrespected...he said he was sorry and that he would never walk into my classroom while i was teaching again...i was satisfied but also kinda saddened...i felt sorry for the guy...i mean, there's no real resources for him as an administrator...what i mean by that is that administrators in the states take courses and workshops and years of university education to learn how to manage a public school...and this man, mr. samoa samoa, doesnt have those resources...he doesnt know how to manage a school professionally...yeah, he may know how to discipline students but he has no idea on how to respect his adult workers...he makes many of his teachers (as well as his students) feel humliated and angry and upset...and thats not a good administrator...someone thats supposed to manage people's emotions, behaviors, and work shouldnt be fueling people's frusterations...ya know?...i didnt mean to go off on such a tangent but i wanted to express how sad i am sometimes with the education system here on island...there isnt enough educational resources for teachers and administrators...they dont know how to run a school properly...i miss that about the states...schools in the states are like a well-oiled machine...where everyone, for the most part, feels respected and valued...here?...its more like a chaotic mess of intimidation and power where people feel demeaned and slighted...

here's a video clip of the tafuna girls practicing their dance for flag day...its very pretty...im so proud of them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nr2Utv_PMA

here's a clip of the boys practicing their haka...i actually dont think its the best haka...(i think leone might beat us on that)...but its still cool...as always, spewing with alpha-male masculinity...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84mVQUIzPQU

and ive saved the best clip for last...this is of the tafuna students practicing their siva...or the slap dance...its awesome...i love watching it...its actually amazing how organized and synchronized they are...its just wonderful to watch...of all the clips on this blog entry, i highly suggest watching this one...then you can notice how astonishing samoan culture can be...even if it does take the place of education...just wait til flag day when i get the finished product on video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79XCFq1830

alrighty then...i apologize for the boring entry...what'd ya think of the video clips?...did i over-react with mr. samoa samoa?...do you think fafafinas should be referred to as "shes"?...who is sexier; me or the drag queens?...and was this not the most humdrum blog entry ever?...leave me a message so i can feel your love...

love ya and miss ya...

-JOE

"It liberates the vandal to travel -- you never saw a bigoted, opinionated, stubborn, narrow-minded, self-conceited, almighty mean man in your life but he had stuck in one place since he was born and thought God made the world and dyspepsia and bile for his especial comfort and satisfaction."

-Mark Twain