In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Troubles in Paradise DR. RUBY T. NORRIS E Sociologically, the Territory of Hawaii is part of the United States. When you arrive you feel at home almost immediately. It has the same religious system, family pattern, economy, language, and educational system. However, there are physical and social factors that set it apart and give it a distinctive flavor. Specifically, the Islands are a greater war zone, in common with other boom towns in mainland war production centers. They are set in the middle of the ocean—a chain of volcanic islands with inter-island travel infrequent enough to result in far less intercommunication than normally exists in a mainland community of this size. The invariable climate is distinctive also. At present the population has a highly unbalanced sex ratio. Finally, you have a permanent population only 25 percent of which is Caucasian. As merchants frequently say to us in the OPA, “Hawaii is different.” I heartily subscribe to this statement, and from these distinctive characteristics a number of problems emerge. Although we are in a war zone, we do not face the physical danger of invasion. However, we do face a danger of physical deterioration. People are living crowded together with many inconveniences such as lack of maids, curtailed delivery service and laundry service, and transportation difficulties. People are working who never worked before; others are working harder than they ever worked before. You cannot interview business men every day without getting a severe sense of strain among this group.They are working almost to the limit of human endurance. This is also true of other workers—even the bureaucrats are not immune! We see the result in a restless search for high-powered recreation— not tiddlywinks—but something with a punch. I feel the Islands have not grappled effectively with the problem of providing mass entertainment .When people return from long, high-geared work days, they 249 First published May 1945. want and demand a lot of varied opportunities for entertainment. Slot machines are not adequate. I mentioned a number of physical characteristics of the Islands that are rather important. The climate is invariable, which makes for a sameness. The isolation from the mainland and the current lack of inter-island transportation cause people to live in circumscribed groups and makes for sameness of experience in communities. This creates a problem of stimulation for the individual. There is little impetus toward critical thought in the Islands because of the easygoing life in this climate. This again demonstrates a need for creative and inventive use of leisure time. Honolulu does a remarkably good job for its size. But all that we can do is none too much when we are set apart from each other by such barriers. Another major problem at present is the unbalanced sex ratio in the Islands. Even before the war the only racial group that had a higher proportion of females than males was the part-Hawaiian. The war has accentuated this situation. Such unbalanced sex ratios have occurred frequently in American society—usually as a frontier phenomenon . You have it occasionally on the mainland where new industrial developments occur. The sociologists have a lot to say on this subject. Most human society throughout the world has been monogamous —chiefly because sexes are equally balanced. Often when you get a reference in history to polygamy, a closer study will reveal that the bulk of the population was monogamous, and plural spouses were the prerogative of the wealthy few, the chiefs or kings. However, it has sometimes developed that the sex ratio has been unbalanced by female infanticide or military decimation of the male population. When this occurred, plural spouses (formal or informal) are the almost universal development. At present the Hawaiian Islands have such an unbalanced sex ratio that unorthodox sex arrangements are quite prominent. You might say, at the moment, that the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed all of Polynesia, are slightly polyandrous! The high divorce rates, flighty wives, sexual precocity, delinquency, and mental maladjustments among men are some of the results of this situation. The plight of the older man is particularly troublesome. The proverbial “wolf” is really rather a pathetic animal! Among the armed forces the same situation obtains. There are far more means by which the enlisted men can meet girls than exist among the older and higher ranking officers. I sometimes wonder whether the lonely atoll with an Hawai‘i Chronicles 250 [18.216.190.167] Project MUSE (2024-04-16...

Share