In this episode, three leaders from the Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction Center (H3RC) talk about what it means to be māhū or transgender in Hawai’i today. They explain why Native Hawaiian culture’s long-held acceptance is colliding with imported beliefs, and what real allyship looks like for AsianAmericans who share the AANHPI label but not the same history.

We talk about what māhū means and why the English word “transgender” doesn’t fully capture it. We look at the difference between Hawaiian culture and “local” culture, shaped by plantation history and missionary influence, and the contradiction of people who say “māhū is okay, but trans is not.” Maddie describes “revving up,” the mental labor trans and māhū people do just to walk out the door. Kekoa explains how federal data cuts are erasing trans communities from HIV care. Kunane shares why harm reduction means walking alongside people instead of dictating their path. We also learn the meaning behind Kua’ana: an older sibling of the same experience who helps the younger one reach their potential.

For Asian American listeners, the call is to right-size ourselves, which means knowing when to step forward and when to step back. We share a label with Native Hawaiians, not a story. One is a diasporic history; the other is the history of an Indigenous people who were colonized. As Kunane puts it, courage can mean carrying it for someone else until they can carry it themselves.

About Hawai’i Health & Haram Reduction Center

​The Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center serves Hawai’i communities by reducing the harm and fighting the stigma of HIV, hepatitis, homelessness, substance use, mentalillness, and poverty in our community. We focus our efforts on those disproportionately affected by social determinants of health, including but not limited to: people living with and/or affected by HIV, hepatitis, substance use, and the transgender, LGBQIA+ and the Native Hawaiian communities. They foster health, wellness, and systemic change in Hawai’i and the Pacific through care services, advocacy, training, prevention, education, and capacity building.

Website: https://www.hhhrc.org/

About the Team

Kunane Dreyer is Deputy Director of Programs at H3RC andhas worked in HIV and hepatitis C prevention for more than 20 years. He recently built two new programs addressing houselessness on O’ahu. He received the 2025 Suzanne Richmond Crum Award from the Hawai’i Department of Health and the 2023 Circle of Harmony Award.

Maddie Sesapasara has served her community since 1998 andjoined H3RC in 2005. She now leads the Kua’ana Project, H3RC’s transgender services program, and testified in support of Hawai’i’s gender-affirming care shield law.

Kekoa Kealoha is the Ryan White Administrative Manager atH3RC, with more than 11 years in HIV care and prevention. Guided by a decolonial approach, he advocates for Kanaka Ōiwi and LGBTQIA+ communities from the Hawai’i State Capitol to the U.S. Capitol.

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Disclaimer:

 Courage Class with Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu and content posted by Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from thispodcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis or treatment. Users should not regard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health conditionthey may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professional for any such conditions.

About the Episode:

Kuleana is a Hawaiian word for responsibility, and award -winning journalist and author Sara Kehaulani Goo describes it as generational: what we owe those who came before us, those beside us now, and those who come after. In her memoir Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai’i , Sara follows her family’s effort to hold onto land in Hana, Maui, granted to her ancestor more than 175 years ago, and how a royal grant of 990 acres became the 10 acres her grandmother wished to keep within the family.

In this episode, Sara shares how she found the original land grant in a manila folder in her great-uncle’s living room, and why so many Native Hawaiian families can no longer afford to stay in Hawai’i. We talk about interviewing her grandmother before she died, feeling torn between an East Coast career andthe place that kept calling her home, and why she didn’t want her kids to be “Hawaiian in name only.” That led her to learn hula alongside them, 5,000 miles from Hawai’i. Sara also explains why hula is how Hawaiian stories were carried, not a performance, and leaves us with the question at the heart of her book: what is your kuleana?

About Sara Kehaulani Goo:

Sara Kehaulani Goo is an award-winning journalist, senior news executive, and author of Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai’i , a memoir about her family’s Native Hawaiian land and legacy. She has led several national news organizations, including Axios, NPR, and The WashingtonPost (WP), and is now President of the WP Creator Network at The Washington Post, a new business outside the newsroom focused on content partnerships with independent creators. She was previously editor-in-chief at Axios, where she launched the company’s editorial expansion into national and local newsletters, podcasts, and live journalism. Before Axios, she was a managing editor at NPR, overseeing the newsroom’s digital news operation and online audience growth. Goo started her career as a reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Connect with Sara:

Website: https://www.saragoo.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/saragoo.author/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/saragoo

To purchase Kuleana on Amazon: https://a.co/d/00YCDslG

Connect with Courage Class on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube:

@courageclasspod

@drlindsaykwockhu

Website: www.drlindsaykwockhu.com/podcast

Sign up for Courage Class Notes, a weekly newsletter: https://drlindsaykwockhu.substack.com/subscribe

Music Credit: DayNigthMorning from Pixabayinvitation-no-copyright-music-388387

Disclaimer:

 Courage Class with Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu and content posted by Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from thispodcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis or treatment. Users should not regard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health conditionthey may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professional for any such conditions.

In 2022, Eldest Daughter Syndrome went viral on social media. Women from all kinds of backgrounds started sharing what it was like to grow up translating government documents, raising younger siblings, and being their parents' emotional support, often before they were old enough to say no.

Dr. Sandy Lee wrote her dissertation on Chinese American eldest daughters while being one herself. Going in, she expected to find women just like her. Instead, she found a spectrum. On one end were daughters raised with the message that if you don't take care of your family, you're being unfilial. On the other were daughters whose parents never required it, and who, because of that, wanted to give back. Plenty landed somewhere in the middle, moving back and forth depending on the season of life.

She also found that you don't have to be born first to become the eldest daughter. Sometimes the role is simply handed to you. If you're carrying the weight of responsibility, this one's for you.

About Dr. Sandy Lee

Dr. Sandy Lee is a researcher whose doctoral work explores the lived experiences of Chinese American eldest daughters. Her dissertation, built around the question "What is your story of living as a Chinese American eldest daughter?", drew on interviews with seven eldest daughters along with her own reflections as one. The daughter of immigrant parents, Dr. Lee brings both research and lived experience to her work, and shehopes it inspires more eldest daughters to share their stories.

Connect with Dr. Lee
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandyleephd/?isSelfProfile=false

Connect with Courage Class on TikTok,Instagram, YouTube:

@courageclasspod

@drlindsaykwockhu

Website: www.drlindsaykwockhu.com/podcast

Sign up for Courage Class Notes, aweekly newsletter: https://drlindsaykwockhu.substack.com/subscribe

Music Credit: DayNigthMorning fromPixabay invitation-no-copyright-music-388387

Disclaimer:

 Courage Class with Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu and content posted by Dr. Lindsay Kwock Hu is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainmentpurposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis or treatment. Users should not regardor delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professional for any such conditions.