Dan Taulapapa McMullin

Samoan Queer Lives delves into the unique lives of Samoan people who are 'fa afafine' - broadly understood in the Western interpretation as persons who are of transgender, intersexed and third sex, or gay, lesbian and bisexual origin.This book, the first of its kind, is edited and written by fa afafine. Here fa afafine share their stories in their own words. Twenty autobiographical stories. Includes personal accounts that cross lines of gender and culture, and span generations, professions and geography. Each chapter in the book is accompanied by a portrait. The stories are by turns angry, humorous, intimate and raw. Introduction by Dan Taulapapa McMullin and Foreword by Yuki Kihara.

Samoan Queer Lives delves into the unique lives of Samoan people who are 'fa afafine' - broadly understood in the Western interpretation as persons who are of transgender, intersexed and third sex, or gay, lesbian and bisexual origin.This book, the first of its kind, is edited and written by fa afafine. Here fa afafine share their stories in their own words. Twenty autobiographical stories. Includes personal accounts that cross lines of gender and culture, and span generations, professions and geography. Each chapter in the book is accompanied by a portrait. The stories are by turns angry, humorous, intimate and raw. Introduction by Dan Taulapapa McMullin and Foreword by Yuki Kihara.

Coconut Milk is a fresh, new poetry collection that is a sensual homage to place, people, love, and lust. The first collection by Samoan writer and painter Dan Taulapapa McMullin, the poems evoke both intimate conversations and provocative monologues that allow him to explore the complexities of being a queer Samoan in the United States. McMullin seamlessly flows between exposing the ironies of Tiki kitsch–inspired cultural appropriation and intimate snapshots of Samoan people and place. In doing so, he disrupts popular notions of a beautiful Polynesia available for the taking, and carves out new avenues of meaning for Pacific Islanders of Oceania. Throughout the collection, McMullin illustrates various manifestations of geopolitical, cultural, linguistic, and sexual colonialism. His work illuminates the ongoing resistance to colonialism and the remarkable resilience of Pacific Islanders and queer-identified peoples.McMullin’s Fa’a Fafine identity—the ability to walk between and embody both the masculine and feminine—creates a grounded and dynamic voice throughout the collection. It also fosters a creative dialogue between Fa’a Fafine people and trans-Indigenous movements. Through a uniquely Samoan practice of storytelling, McMullin contributes to the growing and vibrant body of queer Indigenous literature.