LGBT History Month – Mahu

February 22, 2018

February is LGBT History Month and the LGBT Staff Network are using the month to share an insight into the geography of LGBT History looking at the gender diversity through time and cultures.

Today we highlight Mahu: Long before Captain Cook’s arrival in Hawaii, a multiple gender tradition existed among the Kanaka Maoli indigenous society. The mahu could be any sex, but taking on a gender role somewhere between, or encompassing both, the masculine and feminine. Their social role is sacred as educators of ancient traditions and rituals. The arrival of Europeans and the colonisation of Hawaii nearly eliminated the native culture, and today mahu face discrimination in a culture dominated by white European ideas of only two genders.

#LGBTHistory – claiming our past, celebrating our present and creating our future.