Resignifying “Dyke”
“Dyke” is a reclaimed word with a long history in queer and feminist resistance. Emerging from lesbian feminism and broader liberation movements of the ’70s–’90s, it became a bold expression of identity, community, and collective power. By the early ’90s—when the first Dyke Marches took shape—the term had evolved into a declaration of lesbian activism and a call for visibility, justice, and self-determination.
Once used as a slur—appearing in early 20th-century forms such as bulldyke—the word has since been reclaimed as a symbol of pride and political force. Today it continues to expand, centering dykes while embracing lesbians, trans women, non-binary and intersex people, and all who see themselves reflected in its spirit of feminist defiance, joy, and liberation.
Dyke Remix
The word dyke has a history. Its earliest documented forms appear as bulldyke, a derogatory label for lesbians, especially those seen as masculine or butch. Over time it was shortened to dyke, shifting from an injurious slur to a reclaimed symbol of identity and activist power.
As Judith Butler writes, injurious language “is not an accidental by-product but a structural feature of language’s performative power,” which means its repetition can also be disrupted—and its force reworked—by those it targets. Queer linguists build on this insight to show how marginalized communities resignify slurs, transforming them into tools of solidarity and self-definition.
In this spirit, dyke has been reclaimed by lesbian, trans, non-binary, and queer communities as a proud declaration of resilience, visibility, and collective power. Contemporary scholarship situates this reclamation within broader patterns of linguistic resistance, tracing how terms like dyke, queer, and faggot have been reworked to assert agency and challenge oppression. This ongoing process of semantic transformation mirrors the ethos of the Dyke March itself—a collective act of visibility, defiance, and joy.
