Tootsie, Fijian Style!

I met Kenyi’s best friend today. Her name is Jessica and she was kind of quiet, at least with me and Amy. She was giving Akisi an oil massage in the “living room” just before dinner. Amy and I were processing samples on the front porch, so we didn’t have much time to interact with her. However, Akisi introduced us just before dinner. There wasn’t enough room at the tiny kitchen table for everyone, so Kenyi and her friend Jessica ate dinner on the floor in the “living room”. During dinner, Akisi explained that Jessica is really a boy pretending to be a girl. He is the youngest of his siblings and his mother raised him like a girl. Akisi says that he’s gay, but I don’t know if he is attracted to men or if he just likes being a girl. There are quite a few Fijian men like Jessica. It’s a strange cultural phenomenon. I described it in a previous blog…. Most of the attractive female entertainers in Fijian shows are actually men. However, this was the first time I met a he/she in person. I honestly had no idea that she was a he.