Three Inches Dilated...
Yup, you're looking at America's Next Top Model...Josephina Nemina...Don't I look fabulous?...Fierce!...I'll explain why I'm in drag in a moment...Don't be too scared...And, no, I'm not turnin' fafafine...And, no, the island is not changin' me...It was all for the kids...Gosh, simma donna!...Quickly, I just wanted to comment on the controversy over the last two blog entries...I've always wanted this blog to chronicle my exciting, challenging adventures through the Samoan culture and how my own culture sometimes conflicts with it...In other words, I've always wanted to express the differences and simliarities and the beauty and ugliness of the two cultures I am encountering...My American, state-side culture versus the Samoan, South Pacific culture...Now, the word "versus" isn't the best...Because I'm not trying to pick a winner...But I am constantly thinking about which culture works best for its people...And which one suits me, as well...So, I am somewhat pleased with the thoughtful, engaging opinions and ideas over the last two entries...I suppose I am happy because I have not only challenged my own beliefs and culture, but I also think that some of you have been challenged, too...And that's what I've always wanted this blog to be about...A free, safe, and honest discussion or forum to debate cultural norms...However, I don't want this to become like many blogs...One filled with hate for people who have different philosophies than others...Thus, lets all be nice and supportive of eachother...Culture's deep in our hearts and we all hold it dear and when we begin to question it, we can find it to be challenging and exciting...I mean, that's why I moved to this darn island...And that's why I always pose those discussion questions to y'all...Please, keep reading and keep leaving those authentic messages...I thank you all so much...Who knew that my last post about rocks (rocks, for cryin' out loud!) would get 13 responses! ;-)
Alright, now to the disturbing pictures of me as a woman...It was Spirit Week at Tafuna High School...Which means each day there was a wild theme for the kids to dress up as...For example, there was Opposite Day where everyone was to dress up as the opposite sex...Hence, Josephina Nemina...I wasn't going to dress up that day...But Gene and Sammy got so upset with me because I wasn't showing my school spirit...They said Leone (a rival high school) has teachers who go all out during Spirit Week...I then called John and asked him for a wig...He got hella thrilled and giddy and said "makeover!"...He came to the house in seconds with a dress, wig, heels, bra, and make-up...And he transformed me into that beautiful, gorgeous chick...Frankly, it was worth it...I was the star of the day...The students loved it...We even had fashion shows in some of the classes...And the kids tried teaching me how a woman talks and walks...It was hilarious...Sure, maybe it wasn't educational...But it was a wonderful break from the mind-numbing routine that school sometimes becomes...Even for teachers...It was a breath of fresh, rejuvenating air...A day to wholly let loose and strip myself of inhibitions and reservations...And just have fun with the kids...Yet this is one breath of fresh air I probably won't take again...Only because those damn heels were painful!...But, sole, the kids were cheerin' me on and callin' me the "new sexy white girl"...I'm gonna go down in the Warriors History Books as the most outrageous, weird, pretty palagi teacher of all time...
That's Sammy in the pink above...He actually dolled up for two days this week...And one day he, along with Gene, even shaved his legs!...But kept his mustache...Which I thought was amusing...Anyways, if anything, you guys should be worried about them...I think they enjoyed being females a little bit too much :-)
Oh, my god!...Those two pictures above make my day everytime I look at them...They are pee-in-your-pants hilarious...Yeah, dass mah boy Gene!...Lookin' like an actual chick...Those expressions on his face are priceless...Man, those are some funny ass pics...
Okay, the thing I want to discuss tonight deals with teenage pregnancy...Once again, I hope to get all y'all thinkin'...Just like me...So, one of my students got herself pregnant...Actually, over the summer she did...You see, Mira and Maka, a lovely, popular couple who I have talked about before, are students of mine who discovered last June that they're going to have a baby...Which was totally unexpected and shocking to them and the community...This was a promising pair of students...Mira's smart, rich, beautiful, and university-bound...Maka's a star football player, a minister's son, and, also, university-bound...Needless to say, everyone was kinda dissapointed in hearing that these two responsible, mature, and prominent young people got knocked up...Well, they both came to me the other day to inform me that Mira would not be in school until February...They were asking me if Maka could give her the work every week and if she could still take the course from home...And this is where the controversy comes in...To organize my thoughts I'll write how American Samoa deals with teenage pregnancy and then how America does...And I'll hopefully get us all thinkin' about this issue...
American Samoa:It's seen as shameful to a family when their teenage daughter gets pregnant...I mean, it's even seen as a curse to some Samoan families...The community disgraces the girl and her family...They look down upon them...They begin to see the teenage girl as a slut...As a sinner...And they wonder why the family didn't discipline her and stop her before it happened...The dishonor of a teenage daughter becoming pregnant isn't really what I wanted to discuss here...It's the schooling of the teenage pregnant girl that I wanted to question...In American Samoa, when a girl gets pregnant she is kicked out of high school...It sounds harsh and unreal...But it's true...If the girl doesn't have an abortion (which I have heard of some of the dangerous, brutal natural methods of island abortions), she is forced to leave her high school...This expulsion from school is enforced and, sadly, encouraged by almost everyone around her...The school administrators...Her village...Even her own parents...Everyone wants to keep the pregnancy a secret...The ignominy of it causes the pregnancy to be swept under the rug...Unfortunately, the girl's education also gets swept under the rug...I remember being at a teenage behavior management course here on island with Lisa last year and the instructor was talking about this issue...She was promoting this practice, telling us that it teaches and shows the other girls the consequences of getting pregnant...It inspires the girls to have abstinence since they know the punishment of having teenage sex...Especially, unprotected teenage sex...Of course, Lisa, the feminist, brought up the brilliant point about the boys...Why don't the boys get punished?...Why does Maka still get to go to school?...Why isn't he dishonored?...
Well, I will admit that this practice of persuading teenage pregnant girls to leave school may actually be working...I mean, there aren't very many of 'em around...True, that might just be because they're being hidden...But I haven't seen or heard about many of 'em...Teenage pregnancy doesn't seem to be a huge issue here...Is it working then?...Does this consequence of being banished from school scare other girls from getting pregnant?...Does it teach them there are distressing penalties to getting pregnant as a teenager?...
America:In the states, it's almost completely different...Sure, there is a shame put on teenage girls who get pregnant...And I think they are definetly looked down upon...They are seen as easy and irresponsible...Seen as a dissapointment...Ruined...But they're also encouraged to stay in school...If they're going to have the baby, they must stay in school if they want to be able to support that child...If the girl wants to not only have the baby but also have her dreams come true, she must stay in school...She has to finish her education...And I think most of the people around her motivate her with this notion...Although some may feel she's a bad influence and they will undeniably speak scornfully of her, they will, for the most part, inspire her to stay in high school...This is where the conflict comes...When I was student teaching in Milwaukee, I had about four female students who were pregnant...After only one year of teaching in the states, I had four teenage pregnant girls in my classes...One of 'em was in seventh grade!...I think that's depressingly worrisome...Two of the girls were Juniors and they walked the halls with big bellies about to burst...Showing to everyone, without humiliation, that they were pregnant...And teenaged...The fourth girl, who took class with another one of the pregnant girls, learned she was pregnant at the end of the school year...She told me as if she was looking for attention...With a slight smirk in the corners of her mouth...She didn't seem to be ashamed...Therefore, this begs to be questioned...Did she see the other pregnant girls in school and not realize the consequences of getting pregnant as a teenager?...Did she just think it was something harmless?...Something insignificant?...I mean, if those other girls are goin' on with their lives like nothing's happened, then what's so bad with gettin' knocked up?...Like gettin' pregnant is nothing momentous, they begin to envision it as a walk in the park...Er, a simple, attention-grabbing walk in the school hallways...Unlike here in American Samoa, the teenage pregnant girl in America could also be seen as cool...Hip...And even strong...And successful...
One of the girls that was pregnant at Hamilton High School where I taught was named Crystal...I still remember her name because she was an amazing student...One of my most inspirational...She literally stayed in school until she popped out the baby...I mean, she finally left my class to give birth about a week before...Up until that moment she did all her work and she put all her heart and passion into it...She was one of those students that still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy...Not because I taught her something...Or even that she taught me something...But because she showed me the incredible, stunning power of the human spirit...She was a living, breathing embodiment of human courage and love and fortitude...Everyday when she walked into my English class, with her big, bold pregnant belly, she had a smile on her face and a pencil in her hand...Yes, it may have also been a tired, scared smile...And I know she was exhausted...And sick of the glaring, curious eyeballs...But she continued going to school and working exceptionally hard to finish with her diploma in her hand...A baby in one hand...Her dreams in the other...She was an inspiration to me...And I'm sure she was to other students, too...But is that a good thing?...Or a bad thing?...
So, that's the question I'd like y'all to ponder...Did Crystal show other teenage girls that being pregnant is acceptable?...In the states, do teenage girls who walk the halls of their high schools teach their peers it's alright to get pregnant?...That it's inconsequential?...Should the states do like Samoa and expel girls from going to school?...Would that prevent other teenage pregnancies?...Would that hinder other teenage girls from getting pregnant?...Would they then see the consequences?...Would it then become more shameful, disgraceful to American girls?...Or does American Samoa have it totally wrong?...Is it amiss, even inhumane, to banish a person from their education?...Is it immoral to attempt to keep two lives a secret?...To hide them?...Even if the secret has deep, irrevocable, shameful consequences?...Just to inform you guys, I said it was fine if Mira just did her work in my course at home...I suppose you can see which side of the fence I am on...But I do strongly feel that Mira, if anything, should face her consequences at school...She should be going to school like Crystal and working her butt off to get the diploma...Even if there are eyes of shame beaming down on her everyday...I guess that's the consequence of being a teenage pregnant girl...
Okay...I gotta go...Thanks for reading...And keep those thought-provoking messages coming...Don't be afraid to express yourselves...I love all y'all's advice and suggestions and opinions...In fact, I need them to stay sane here!...Oh, and on a scale from 1 to 10, how hot of a woman do I make?...
Anyfuams, much alofas to y'all...I love ya and miss ya...
-JOE
"From the beginning we wanted our show to feel like it had been going on for thousands of years."
-Jeff Probst, on creating Survivor, the reality gameshow where contestants must outwit, outplay, and outlast on an island.
posted by Samoa Joe at 3:23 AM
4 Comments:
Wow Joe!
Where to start? You always ask so many questions. Hehe.
Okay, teenage pregnancy. This is a controversial topic in the States. For the same reasons you pointed out Joe.
When reading your piece, I began to think about what is more important to a society. What is more important for a culture or a country? Or any group of people for that matter. I study different countries, cultures and they all seem to have different ideas behind their views. Some are extremely secular, others are religious. The fact is, according to the organization Save the Children, reported that the rate in developed countries for teenaged pregnancies was much lower than those in the developing countries. For example, in the United States, in 1990, the pregnancy rate was 106.7 per every 1,000 girls. In 2002 it dropped to 75.4 per every 1,000 girls. The study accredited 25% to abstinence and 75% to the proper use of contraceptives.
In the US, teen pregnancy is viewed as a social issue. It is becoming less and less a religious issue. In American Samoa, I assume, is still very much a religious issue. If a society’s goal is maintain religious purity, then banning women from their schools is proper. If this religious emphasis is more important than education, it will cause the vanishing of teen pregnancies. Notice I said the vanishing NOT the drop in percentage rate. The vanishing of the girls may include shipping pregnant girls to Hawaii to disappear from the Island. Or other places like staying at home. Or perhaps they are kept hidden or forced to perform an abortion with the knowledge of anyone. I believe these type of harsh punishment will ensure in public, teens will not be seen pregnant.
While in the United States, the pregnancy is now becoming, unfortunately, some sort of fashion statement. But, contraceptives and information are both, increasingly becoming more accessible. I believe when one makes an educated decision, one has more chances of doing what one desires in a coherent manner than making a decision based on religious ideology (something I like to call spooky language.) used to scare someone or keep them in check. I strongly believe the more information a person has, regarding religion, politics, sex or anything else, that person will make the most accurate, safest decision that best fits that persons wishes. Giving the opportunity to enjoy life.
I know many girls who have become pregnant as a teen. In fact, I have on in my family. She was 14 when she became pregnant. My family damned her for her actions. I did not, how I could I judge anyone their actions. What I thought when I received the news was, her life will be 100 times harder to do the things she wanted. Her life with a child will forever be changed. From goals, to time invested, to shifting to a new mindset, opportunities to do selfish acts. All these things will disappear or decrease significantly. I believe having children, for many rebellious teens, will allow a person to grow and become responsible. It might make them a better person. Many will say, well it is not their time. I say, there is no right time to grow up and become a mother. In Africa, 47% of women aged 20-24 were married before 15 and 87% before 18. 53% also had given birth to a child before the age of 18. That is why I enjoy in the way the US works. If you choose to make your life more difficult, in the United States, you can still live a good quality of life. It will be harder, sure. But the opportunity is still available. Religion should be personal and intimate. Having children at age 14 is increasing is becoming a personal choice. This is not a bad thing, in my view. As I mentioned before, in many counties, marrying and bearing children before 18 is more common than not.
My cousin now has become an honor-roll student. She is 17 graduated with honors and is now attending college. She really wants to make the best of her life and now her little girl. She chose a harder life. But she still has a life.
So, I ask you Joe. Is the fact that teens are becoming more educated and learning to use contraceptives working? The statistics show they are. I know some will ask, what about abortions. A Guttmacher study shows, abortions have significantly dropped in the last 12 years. 42.3% per every 1,000 in 1986 to 21.7% in 2002.
Education, in my opinion is the most important tool anyone could possess. I hope no one supports taking these wonderful privileges away from anyone, regardless of their personal choices and so called mistakes. I am happy you chose to support her at her home. She deserves and should have the right to an education. Mistakes and education are two different entities. If you are worried about her ‘suffering’ the consequences Joe, don’t. She will reap the consequences, her choice now is whether or not she will wants to suffer for it or better herself for it. Trust me, she will feel the consequences of waking up at 3am to feed her child, and then wake up a 6am to do school homework and then growing up faster than her peers, that will be punishment enough if you ask me.
For those of you wondering what the biggest factor in teen pregnancies are: Out of wedlock parenting is the highest determining factor. This is more common in minorities, the most within blacks. When there is a single parent, working, studying and trying to support his or her children, many times the children go astray and sadly their lives become a vicious cycle and lead to chaos.
Always,
Presque Parfait
P.S. YES I’m almost perfect, no one is perfect. But I’m sure close! Hehe
F.Y.I. – ‘Presque Parfait’ is French for ‘Almost Perfect’
Joe are you sure you want me to give my opinion about your female impersonation?....You look like Ruth Buzzi from the 60's Laugh-In show except you left out the hairnet...
As for teen pregnancy no one ever thinks about the baby...who needs to committed, mature, financially responsible parents...that's why we have a crisis in foster care in the U.S.
We do have an absolute crisis in the foster care situation in the US.
No one should be deprived of education for any reason- especially a person who will soon have a child to raise.
Last year at MHS I personally knew one JR. w/ a year old baby, and one Jr. who delivered in June and other teenage girls actually trying to get pregnant- I don't think it carries much shame anymore here in the US- I think our girls here in the US are looking for something...lacking something...as adults, mentors, parents we need to work together to try to help them feel loved, feel responsible & in control of their own success & failure.
It really comes down to the question (that you have mentioned many times in your blog while in AS)- is shame and fear appropriate/ effective tools to raise children & teach them right from wrong- I think your old school readers will say yes- and new school no...It doesn't sit well in my spirit...??
http://uwm.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2163266&l=4b9f7&id=26703836
that link is to pictures of selena. i just emailed them to nellie for dana, but I thought i'd put it up on here too incase she didn't get the email - we all know she reads the blog! ;)
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