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Dem Haoles

Imagining Whiteness, Hawaiian Style

In Hawaii, haole is the label no local, or want-to-be local, ever wants to acquire. It carries various negative stigmas and in general signifies not belonging. It is shorthand for outsider and has evolved into a derogatory reference to “whiteness.”

Mainstream popular culture however, offers a different portrayal, one that is much more positive. It projects a haole image that is both more exalted and entitled.