"The only dykey one": constructions of (in)authenticity in a lesbian community of practice

This article demonstrates how members of a lesbian community of practice make interactional moves that allow them to position themselves as "authentically lesbian." Through the use of discourse analysis and a sociocultural linguistics focus on indexicality, the speakers are shown to invoke broadly accessible stereotypes and ideologies and to rework them in order to create locally specific, meaningful identities. This is achieved via mutually negotiated stance taking toward group-constructed, oppositional personae. Specifically, the women in this group position styles deemed as "girly" as inauthentic and antithetical to their concept of a lesbian--the authentic "dyke."