This week’s Micronesian Monday Feature is about Pualana Roby, an emerging Micronesian content creator who wants to use her voice to empower and inspire Micronesians.

A few months ago, Instagram account @beautiful_micronesianz posed a question to its follower base asking what people thought about Micronesian women posing in bikinis and sharing those photos on social media. 

On one hand, Micronesian culture is pretty conservative but with so many Micronesians living on American soil many Micronesians also live a Western life. 

This question prompted Pualana Roby to stitch two photos of herself together and post it on her feed with her thoughts. In one photo, Pualana is showing off her signature smile wearing a bikini and in the other, she’s posing in a Micronesian skirt. ¹

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“As women, we have more pressure to look and dress according to what will please other people the most. How does that make sense? Why should I dress myself in accordance to what satisfies other people?” part of the caption reads. 

“Today, many young Micronesian women and girls are taking back their power over their bodies and wearing whatever they’d like,” the caption states. 

Reflecting on her post, Pualana, who goes by Pua, said she has so much respect for all Micronesian women— those that wear skatos daily and those that don’t. 

“Growing up, my mother instilled a sense of self-love, self-respect, empowerment, and self-confidence within me, which I truly am grateful for because it’s shaped me into the woman I am today. The woman I am today believes that a woman’s self-respect isn’t defined by the clothing she wears but rather by her actions unto others. We wear our clothing; our clothing doesn’t wear us. And our cultural identity isn’t equivalent to the pieces of clothing we wear,” Pua said. 

Pua added that there’s a time and place for everything and she’s not advocating to wear a bikini to church. 

“But I believe that if a Chuukese woman wants to wear her bikini at the beach, she should be able to without judgement. Looking back on the post, I’ve received a lot of messages from girls in and outside of Micronesia that agree with my post or thank me for putting their beliefs into words and a lot of Micronesian men that don’t agree with what I posted. 

“Truly, I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion, just as I believe each person has the right to dress how they wish,” she told The Husk.

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Pua is one of many Micronesians online who are overhauling how people view Micronesians. Empowered by the Jojo Peters, Sha Merireis, Angela Edwards , Victorious Falans, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiners, Emelihter Kihlengs of the world, these youngsters disrupt (in a good way) the status quo. They show the many facets of being Micronesian, one post at a time. 

Pua has built a steady following on TikTok, Instagram, and now YouTube, sharing her life, sharing her thoughts. 

“I am a proud daughter of Chuuk. My mother is from Oneop, Eot, Udot, Weno (Kurassa, Iras), and Japan. My father is from Kuttu, Nama, Weno (Nefach, Mwan), and Japan,” Pua said. 

“In all my 20 years of living, I have only lived and traveled within the Pacific Ocean,” she added. 

One of the posts on Pua’s Instagram, is a poem called “Microaggressions Towards Micronesians.” The poem was drafted when she was a junior at Xavier. In 2020 with lockdown in full force without much else to keep her occupied, Pua returned to the poem. She revised it and posted it online. 

tedtalksbypua

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“I was overwhelmed with appreciation for the post and messages from young Micronesians saying how relevant the post was to them. My closest friends and family have always been my biggest supporters and have encouraged me to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve been creating ever since,” Pua said. 

Pua said she’s always loved writing essays and poems. Her work earned her top marks in an essay contest that was open to all of the students in the Federated States of Micronesia. 

In the years since she’s graduated from school, she’s turned to social media to share her creative pursuits. 

“I only started my YouTube channel recently because I have nothing major going on in my life right now and felt like it would be a great project to focus on. My main page is where I like to post my pictures and post different announcements or share things that I love on my stories because I realized how many younger Micronesians followed and viewed my stories and posts,” she said. 

It started out as a place to express herself. It’s evolved to be a place for advocacy, education, and entertainment, Pua said. 

“I hope that my platform can be a source of inspiration and empowerment to many Micronesians of different ages, genders, and backgrounds,” she said. “Especially the young women in Micronesia and around the world.”

She yearns to make a positive impact on the community. 

“And show people outside of our Micronesian community that we’re here, we exist, and we’re a vibrant and resilient community with a lot of talent, skill, and intelligence to offer the world,” she added.

Curious about other Micronesian movers and shakers? Here’s who Pua recommends, in her own words:

I have many Micronesian role models, many of which I’ve had the honor of meeting and working with, such as the late Dr. Joakim Peter, who dedicated his life to advocating for the COFA community in the mainland and in Hawaii. I met him at a workshop I attended, volunteering at Public Health in 2018.

I also had the honor of working closely with my aunt, Christina “Kiki” Stinnett, for two consecutive summers, while volunteering at Chuuk’s Women’s Council. She taught me that empowerment can be gained through education and taught me so many things like, climate change, sewing, farming, healthy eating.

There are so many other great Micronesian creators, here’s a list with Instagram usernames, from the top of my head:

-My Marshallese-Chuukese sister, Debby Schutz, who’s an amazing artist: @commisiondebby

-The talented Marshallese MUA and mommy: @marshallesemua

-My beautiful Chuukese sister, who exudes beauty and empowerment through her pictures, @neomesoblessed

-The talented photographer, Bee: @casualphotographybybee

-Emily Bey, a graphic designer, newest Micronesian doula, and mother of three who’s already helped so many Micronesian moms through their pregnancies and deliveries: @emm.bey

There are so many more, I just can’t remember them all!

There are, of course, many formal organizations that work to empower and educate Micronesians but the reason why I liked writing about Pua is because she’s part of this generation of young Micronesians who are promoting the culture unapologetically and platforming Micronesia as part of their online identity. ²She’s using her voice and her social platforms, putting herself out there, through her poetry and writing and YouTube videos. She’s sharing her perspective as a young Micronesian. 

I grew up without seeing any of this kind of discourse or media. To see Pua and these young Micronesians reinforcing positive messages about Micronesia and Micronesians online is to live in a new era. 

There’s really so much more to Pua’s caption about clothing and women than what I included in this piece. Click here to read it all.

Plus, Pua is straight up very entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud during her vlogs, a rarity for me. 

I’m excited to see what she creates next. And I’m excited to see how the young Micronesians of today influence the future generation of Micronesians. 

Follow Pua on TikTok, Instagram here and here, and subscribe and watch her videos on YouTube. 

Thank you for reading. If you liked this, consider subscribing to The Husk. You’ll get weekly stories about Micronesian makers, creators, and professionals sent to your inbox for free. Do you know a Micronesian we should know about? Email thehusk@substack.com.

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***Promo image on thehusk.substack.com courtesy of Pua Roby***

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The skato or urohs is typically a midi-length skirt. They are handmade with bright floral embroidered designs. Sometimes the skirts are made with vivid tropical print lightweight  fabric. Sometimes they incorporate a large-scale scalloped hem. Despite the wide-ranging designs, Micronesian skirts each feature the same basic architecture, an elastic waist, a tiered hem, and an a-line shape. It’s signature designs are unique but quintessentially Micronesian in a way this author can’t effectively describe so she must link to this video to help explain: 

Where my writing falters, this video triumphs