Paper short abstract:

The LGBTIQ community in Timor-Leste has become more prominent in recent years through the work of advocacy groups and the holding a gay pride parade from 2017. This paper explores gender relations and the status of non-binary genders in Timorese indigenous cultures which is not recorded.

Paper long abstract:

The LGBTIQ community in Timor-Leste has become more prominent in recent years due to the advocacy and activities of a small network of local and international organisations and the holding of a gay pride parade in the capital Dili from 2017. While not criminalised, social stigma, discrimination, harassment and violence remains common for LGBTIQ people. Religious conservatism appears to largely be the logic behind these negative attitudes. This paper explores gender relations and the status of non-binary genders in Timorese indigenous cultures. The 13 distinctly identified ethnolinguistic groups on the island of Timor feature both Melanesian and Malay based languages and matrilineal and patrilineal social organisation. There are cultures in the Pacific and modern day Indonesia where third genders have had a place but the attitude of the various Timorese indigenous cultures to more fluid gender expressions that allows for attraction and sex between same sex individuals is not recorded.