Zili, 5, is believed by his family to be born as a third-gender known in Samoa as fa'afafine which translates as 'in the manner of woman'. His mother accepts it when her son acts like a girl, but does not allow him to wear girl's clothes. In many Samoan families when parents think that their sons act like girls, they raise them as females. In Samoan culture fa'afafine are generally accepted and not stigmatised. It's not uncommon for some parents to decide to raise a boy as a girl, even if the boy does not behave in a feminine manner. Fa'afafine are considered hard workers who can do jobs traditionally designated for women or men and also known for their good deeds. It is thought that fa'afafine originate from a practice of raising some boys as girls, dressing them in girl's clothes and training them in women's work. Such children were not necessarily homosexual but may have displayed feminine characteristics as a child. This might have been done where there were only boys in the family. In contemporary society this has evolved and is far more complex with some fa'afafine self-selecting and more likely to identify as homosexual. However, there are examples of young boys pressurised to become fa'afafine whose young identities have been confused by the process.