Why We Should Still Love Island Girls

To look at the movies or TV shows these days, especially if you’re a fan of, say, “Hawaii-5-o”, the way island girls seem to be depicted has to have you thinking, “Okay, they’re all about the beauty now.” And you’d be right. It’s the physical nature now and not much else. We have to give kudos to Walt Disney Productions for looking past the beauty of “Moana” and focusing more on the awe-inspiring stories, myths and legends island girls are surrounded by. Better yet, think about the beauty you saw in the “Bounty” movies, and yet the story of “Mutiny on the Bounty” really didn’t focus on island girls hardly at all. In its simplest terms, it was a story about a mutiny, a long, arduous survival tale, followed by a relentless pursuit on the high seas.

Women of the islands have changed over the years. These days, there is not much left of the Polynesian Islands, or the coasts off Indonesia, or the adjoining islands that head to Hawaii that hasn’t been explored and settled. From our viewpoint, it would appear that the days of the topless, bronzed beauties of the tropics, welcoming love and affection and primal sex have all but disappeared entirely. Today, they are a lot less uncouth and more Westernized, thank you VERY much, Christianity. They do not run half-naked into the waves to dive for pearls, or perform sinuous dances for locals (unless of course they are paid professionally to do it). Not many of them speak in a foreign tongue either, as English, French and  Tagalog have now almost dominated the South Pacific.

But back in their day, like the 18th and 19th centuries, there was much to love about these women before there was Mutiny on the Bounty or Hawaii-5-oh. So, in case you’ve forgotten, here are some things about island girls we still love – even if history has passed them by.

1.) Their distinct beauty…

It’s rather difficult NOT to know an island girl when you see one, because they all pretty much inherited the same traits: dark brown eyes, golden bronzed skin, ebony usually-long hair, and surprisingly white perfect teeth. They can be a mix of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Thailand, etc. Why is that? Well, that brings us to number 2…

2.) They were wayfarers…

Just like “Moana” teaches us, the people of the Polynesian islands and points west indeed took huge boats and crossed the ocean numerous times in search of more land, more trees, more fish, and more people. They spread out into the sea the same way settlers did in the 1700s and 1800s crossing America. It’s hard not to admire someone who comes from ancestry that bravely took on the mighty seas for eons..

3.) They were pearl divers…

Long ago, the idea of women pearl divers was actually frowned upon. Men did all the work. Fun fact: Polynesian women, as they were built differently, could actually stay underwater longer and dive deeper. It soon became apparent that they weren’t just able to stay home in the huts and look after kids, and about the early 1900s, late 1800s, women fishers were very as common as the ama divers of Japan.

4.) The language is surprisingly hot…

Meet someone who still can speak fluent Tahitian, and you might find yourself falling in love. It is a beautiful, melodic tongue and though it has been almost thoroughly destroyed by Western cultures, time to time if you visit Tahiti, stay at a hotel close to the old villages, and you can find some people willing to speak it – and teach it to you.

5.) Oh, how they dance…

If you’ve watched the traditional Hawaiian dancers perform while on a trip to the big island, you’re seeing a less-raunchy version of how it used to be done way back when. But the language of the hands, the feet and especially the hips, telling their people the stories of wind, sand, sea, or love, is still practiced in Tahiti. Take a look at the two dance versions side by side, and you’ll see there are some subtle changes. Of course, most of Hawaii’s first settlers were Polynesian anyway. Why the dance changed some however is a mystery.

6.) The flowers…

There is nothing quite like the traditional Polynesian or Hawaiian leis around shoulders, or wrists, or ankles, or as headpieces. They use hibiscus blooms in some of the sexiest, most beautiful ways. Never mind the way they use floral prints on sarongs, and pareos, and even Bermuda shorts. It’s the way the spin palm tree bark shavings with luscious flowers and create the most stunning, eye-catching styles for wandering eyes. And they just make the girls smell so much more beautiful…

7.) That silky skin…

Have you ever stroked a peach before in the supermarket – without anyone seeing you, of course. Try to imagine something about 10 times softer. We’ve read  a lot of reasons why island girls have such smooth skin, from bamboo, to coconut oil, to pinapples. There’s just something about the way they seem to protect their skin like valuable pieces of art, and why not? Being out in the ocean or sunlight so long, these women have to find ways to protect it, right?

So there you have it! There’s probably even more awesome things about “island girls” we’re missing but…for right now, we really hope you’ll enjoy ours. They’ll plunge into the depths of the sea to find a mystery, or romance a very handsome man, or become wanted and hunted down by the bad guys holding a deadly secret from the world. It’s all coming up in our webcomic, “Island Girls”, and we really can’t wait to show all of you.