As women from subjugated cultures we have tried to point out that it is not helpful to us when gender and culture are talked about in ways that imply they exist separately and independently of one another. It is also misleading. The ways in which ‘gender’ and ‘culture’ are sometimes talked about seems to lift both these concepts out of relationship. In some conversations it seems as if gender is in some way separate from the general ways in which people live their lives, as if gender resides within individuals. Similarly, the ways in which ‘culture’ is sometimes spoken about makes it sound as if it is a fixed entity. This is especially true when people speak about ‘true culture’ – as if the only true culture is that elusive entity that existed pre-colonisation. These constructions of gender and of culture are problematic, particularly for women from subjugated cultures who wish to address issues of gender. If our gender and our culture are constructed as somehow separate from each other, as soon as we attempt to take any action in relation to either issues of gender or culture, we find our identities called into question … We have tried to create an alternative way of approaching issues of gender and culture. (Tamasese, 2003, p. 204)