Namsa Leuba
Portraits Of The Third Gender
In the Western world, gender complexes and sexual identities which deviate from the norm are only slowing becoming accepted and understood by the overarching general public. However, in Tahiti, French Polynesia, acceptance of the concept of “other” has been quietly present and upheld within the community for years. Namsa Leuba, an African-European photographer, quintessentially captures the beauty of the third gender of the Polynesian people in her project Illusions: The Myth of the “Vahine” through Gender Dysphoria.
Splitting her life between Sweden, her country of birth, and Tahiti, her new-found home, Leuba has kindled and fostered relationships with those in Tahiti who find themselves not fitting into the cookie cutter shapes of cisgender identities. Leuba works with those who call themselves the “Mahu,” translated as “in the middle,” as well as the “rae-rae,” or transgender. Self-described as a third gender, the Mahu have found not only acceptance within their community, but are even viewed in an elevated light. Made to be teachers of dance or chant, many Mahu have been given the responsibility of cultural torch-bearing as they pass on values to younger generations.
Leuba also examines the image of the “vahine,” or Polynesian women. When the French artist, Paul Guaguin, set his sights on painting the Polynesian women in the late 1800s, he encapsulated the Polynesians as first and foremost primitive beings. Leauba works to break that stereotype, allowing for the world to see them as they are; as strong and powerful individuals.
Through her radiant project, Leuba portrays her subjects in a way which is both stunningly distinct and distinctly jarring. Native men and women pose amidst natural backdrops with skin painted from head to toe in bright, solid colors. From blue to purple to yellow to red, the Polynesians are presented with skin so saturated in color, the backgrounds almost look dull. Challenging the Western perception of what beauty is, each subject holds themselves with a posture of severe pride and confidence. Their bodies adorned with cultural ornaments and natural trinkets, the third gender which Leuba captures are presented in a glorious state of transformation or transition. The project is a welcome sign to change and the acceptance of such deviations of identity.
