Culture shock: first visit to Oxford St

Culture shock: first visit to Oxford St

I was born in Apia in Samoa and have lived there all my life. At the age of 10 I realised I was attracted to guys. I went to an all-boys school and as you could imagine there was a lot of bullying towards me. I consider myself quite a soft person, whereas in Samoa they perceive men as macho and the whole idea of a man in my country is to grow up, get married and have kids.
I never really told my family that I was gay, they just knew. It was hard for me at first but I was lucky as they were okay with it, and over time they have become a lot more accepting. It didn’t take me long to be out in my community as I had support and friends who were gay. But there are so many who are still in the closet.
I was 21 when I joined the Samoan AIDS Foundation in 2004.
I have come to Australia for the Oxfam International Youth Partnerships. It is a conference which aims to establish awareness of gay and lesbian issues. The conference is a network of 300 young people from all over the world, all coming together for eight days to talk about different issues. As a gay 24-year-old, I consider myself an active member of the gay community and a passionate advocate for gay rights. When I go back to Apia I will write up a report to the Foundation.
We want to develop a society where there is a choice for alternative sexualities and we aim to stop the stigma and discrimination aimed at gay people. It is a very global issue.
I am very appreciative that Oxfam has given me this opportunity. It will enable us to develop more networks within Australian communities.
It is an excellent opportunity in Australia for the gay and lesbian community to come together and have their say.
In Samoa the word fa’a fafine is used to describe gay people. It is a term that means to be like a woman. We have cultural and religious barriers here and you can’t use the word gay. There are so many examples of non-acceptance in my country. We have no laws for gay rights or policies here that make gays and lesbians a part of society. There are no gay clubs in Samoa. We have a drag pageant that I participated in but that’s about it. A gay culture doesn’t exist here because of religious and cultural differences. In Samoa there is an unspoken thing about being gay. They want to ignore the matter. It is a sad thing. That’s the reason I am a part of the conference. I want to help to empower young people and emphasise that sexuality is a freedom of choice.
Coming to Sydney and seeing Oxford St for the first time was a cultural shock to me. It is so diverse and everyone is so friendly. There are just so many positive things about the atmosphere here. It’s amazing. It’s so liberal on Oxford St. It’s beautiful. Things like this just don’t exist in my country. I think it’s so good that Australia has an avenue for the gay community here and it’s good to have a perspective on the gay culture in Sydney. It is an extremely huge contrast compared to Samoa.
I know that I am not alone here. I am very happy to be here and that will keep me inspired to continue my work for social change in my community.
Visit www.oxfam.org.au.
As told to LEIGH WILSON

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