Representations of Pacific Islander Identity: Ours and Theirs

Ours and Theirs

Abstract

Unspoilt whit sandy beaches and turquoise water, a gentle breeze blowing through the overhanging coconut palms, the song of a ukulele accompanying the gently breaking waves. Add in a fruity cocktail served in a hollowed-out pineapple and choose your waiter: a beautiful "hula girl" wearing a polished coconut bikini top or a bronzed "cabana boy" bearing a perfect white smile. This is a Pacific - and other tropical - Island "paradise" imagined and perpetuated for decades by popular media and tourism marketing in Western countries (Connell 2003, 554; Feldman 2011, 46; Nelson 2007, 1; White 2007, 25). However, a more intimate understanding of the Pacific points to the inadequacies of stereotypes like these (White 2007, 29). Pacific beaches of white powdery sand are joined by stretches of Island coastline consisting of stone; shelly, coarse grains; or black, volcanic sand. A falling coconut can cause damage to property and create severe personal injury (Barss 1984, 990; Mulford, Oberli, and Tovosia 2001, 33), so it is not advised to lie beneath a coconut tree. Coconut bras are neither readily available nor generally desired and, unlike women, exist in a strictly limited size range. A perfect smile? Chewing betel nut (a common practice in parts of the Pacific) stains teeth red and eventually to black (Norton 1998, 81).