Cécile Tessier-Gendreau

Impérieuse Raerae

Cécile Tessier-Gendreau

Ambre, 25, waitress in a bar in Tahiti, is preparing to compete for the title of Miss Vahine-Tane (woman-man). A singular election which has brought together for more than ten years the most beautiful "raerae" (transvestite men) of Tahiti. Long criticized, this event now brings together more than a thousand spectators and makes the headlines in the media. Simultaneously, the Assize Court of Papeete condemns two executioners to 20 and 30 years of criminal imprisonment for kidnapping, torture and murder of a raerae, on the grounds of their sexual orientation! Dream creatures, asexual beings, victims ... Who are these raerae? How did they impose themselves in Polynesian society?