This essay seeks to explore the relationship between a Samoan mother and son who is Niuean Samoan. The complexities of youth, sexuality, parenting, and lack thereof are traversed. The vulnerability of being naked is used as a metaphor for speaking “truth.” To speak truth you must be willing to be stripped naked. To hear your child's truth often means bearing witness to their nakedness and in return giving them a naked safe sacred space to share. This essay is an example of creative-relational inquiry between mother and son.

Keywords:
Va (Samoan term for relational space in-between), Mother, Son, Samoan, Sexuality, Family
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2020
Regents of the University of California
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