Sexuality Education
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Many traditional behavioral patterns and cultural practices are no longer a part of 21st century Polynesia, which largely includes Western culture now. The following behaviors and practices mentioned are parts of various traditional Polynesian cultures, and therefore may no longer be a part of today’s Polynesian cultures.
Polynesia demonstrates a sex positive attitude, meaning sexuality is expressed in a positive, open manner and is generally encouraged; there is no shame or guilt shown regarding sex, especially when teaching children. Compared to Western American culture, Polynesians begin learning about sexuality from a young age. In traditional Hawai’i, males between the ages of 4 and 6 go to live in male houses where they obtain sexuality education from adult males through observation. In the end, they will have gained knowledge about sex roles and sex-related expectations as a male. Females stayed with the older women to learn about sexuality, which included looking forward to and appreciating the pleasures of sex. There are many sex positive songs, conversations, and stories the children heard from their elders as well (Diamond 2004). Young Polynesians were encouraged to learn about coitus firsthand through instruction, observation, and practice. Mangaian families usually slept in one room, allowing children to secretly witness copulating from their parents. Exploratory play in traditional Hawai’i is generally encouraged to the young and may include investigating each other’s genitals, masturbating, and masturbating each other either heterosexually or homosexually. For both males and females, engaging in casual sexual intercourse before adolescence is also not uncommon (Diamond 2004). Another way Polynesians acquire sexuality education is through childbirth. Tuamotu Archipelago societies treat childbirth as a community event where both children and males attend, and males assist in the childbirth. In other parts of Oceania, males are forbidden to participate, which distinguishes the Polynesian practice from others in Oceania as well as other parts of the world (Bolin 2004). There is an informal system of education in French Polynesia that teaches the indigenous beliefs about conception. According to these beliefs, babies were not just conceived through copulating of a male and female but divine intervention was a necessary component in conception. In the Tahitian ethnotheory of conception, babies acquired both physical and divine characteristics from their parents, and the amount of divinity in each child is directly proportionate to his or her degree of descent from his or her parent’s ancestral origins. The Rapanese ethnotheory of conception states that: “a fetus is formed when semen enters the uterus and coalesces with the blood harbored there. The existence of ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and ova is not recognized. Menstruation ceases after conception, because all the blood goes to building the fetus. If conception has not occurred, the blood becomes stale after a month, is expelled in menstruation and is replaced with a fresh supply. The uterus opens and closes periodically, opening each month to allow the old blood to flow out. . . . Semen cannot enter when the uterus is closed, so there is no possibility of conception during the greater part of the cycle” (Bolin, 2004, p. 14). This led the Rapanese to believe that the three to four day period after menstruation is when a woman is most fertile, and if a couple wanted to prevent pregnancy, they only needed to abstain from sex during that time period (Bolin 2004). Andrea Boes |