My late uncle, Max Wendt, was a policeman all his life. I grew up used to his familiar blue-uniformed presence. Sometimes, when kids would bully me at primary school, I would use his name in vain, “I’m gonna tell my uncle on you. He’s a...
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Strong is beautiful. When we lived in New Zealand with our children, my daughters sometimes found it difficult to be brown girls in a so-called ‘multicultural’ (but really, a palagi) country. My teenager stood out as the tallest, biggest girl in her class of palagi and...
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As a Pasifika writer from Samoa, I am interested in the stories we tell about women, the stories that shape us and help define how we view women and how we value them. As a mother, I am interested in how those stories – of...
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Eleven years ago, Darren Young weighed 140kilos. His stress levels were high, he suffered from regular migraines, and he was always tired. He drank six large bottles of Coke a day to keep him fuelled for the demands of running his own construction and steel...
Read MoreLast weekend I went to Lalomanu to be water girl for that man who lives in the same house as me, while he competed in the Samoa Warrior Race Half Ironman. This necessitated: leaving my bookclub early the night before, so we could pack the car...
Read More"I made it my mission to oppress the shame...
Read More"I came out to my mother and she had that disappointed/staunch look on her face. She said lots of things, like, ‘Oh no! you’re a lesbian?, I expected kids from you!, you can get diseases!, when did this happen?, why are you like this?, is...
Read More"We’ve all heard the phrase so many times over the past few days now [since the Orlando massacre] that it’s beginning to lose its resonance, but its truth is still nonetheless indisputable. Being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is. The reason this has left...
Read MorePasifika and pansexual - "I have learned not to apologise for being born with the ability to love anyone regardless of their sex or gender, because that would disrespect the One who designed me that way...
Read MoreBella - I want a baby. But I don't want a husband. Or a boyfriend. Me - Don't worry. There's ways you can get around that. Let's chat. Her Dad (horrified) - YOU DON'T WANT A BABY! YOU'RE ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD!! Obviously we have different parenting styles...
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