The search for virility: A goal across gender lines?

This article examines the notion of virility in the context of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, highlighting the way in which it is experienced and embodied by male and female practitioners. On the tatamis where I have trained regularly since 2016, it appears that combative virility is not exclusively masculine, but rather a collective pursuit that transcends gender categories. Through an ethnography conducted in two French clubs, I demonstrate that virility must first be constructed and then maintained through sustained, intensive physical commitment. This commitment makes both male and female practitioners what I call “durs au mâle”—a play on dur au mal (“tough in the face of hardship”) with mâle meaning “male.” However, it should be emphasized that female practitioners must not only strive to assert their virility, but also manage a double burden: being recognized as competent while negotiating their femininity within an environment often dominated by male norms. This quest for virility can thus be understood as a matter of perspective, revealing how female bodies can be perceived as threats to male virility, while opening the way to a redefinition of gender roles in this context.