Gender, agency, and vulnerability of LGBT martial arts group members of Timor-Leste

In post-conflict Timor-Leste, involvement in martial arts groups (MAGs) is often attributed to the privileging of militarized masculinity associated with men and violence, and therefore conflated with most characterizations of involvement in (politically) violent organizations. This association risks naturalizing connections between men, masculinity, and violence and oversimplifying MAG membership. Though some research on MAGs in Timor-Leste pays attention to women, there is no research to date on the complicated and intersecting lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) members, reifying both sexist and heterosexist assumptions. This article looks to rectify that: it studies LGBT MAG members, and seeks to enhance overall understandings of MAGs, sexuality, and gender in post-conflict Timor-Leste as a result. Working at the intersection of feminist security studies and critical gang studies, the article looks at three aspects of LGBT MAG membership: how and why LGBT members join MAGs, how they define brotherhood in relation to their identities and experiences, and how they experience brotherhood and/or violence in MAGs. Drawing on ten first-hand interviews with LGBT MAG members, the article marshals its empirical findings to argue that, for LGBT MAG members, strategically performing heterosexuality and hypermasculinity is a form of agency, and queering brotherhood is a LGBT-specific performance of MAG membership.