Sport Dyke

Sport dyke is a slang term within lesbian and queer women's communities for a lesbian who identifies strongly with being an athlete, whose interests, community, and personal style revolve around sports. Lesbian glossaries describe it as, more than anything, a lesbian who identifies with athletics, often dressing in sportswear and playing sport. The label reflects a long-recognized cultural link between lesbian identity and women's athletics, from recreational softball and tennis to professional leagues. It sits alongside other community aesthetics such as soft butch, futch, and lipstick lesbian. Many people wear the term with pride, though like all such labels it is a playful shorthand rather than a strict category, and not every athletic lesbian claims it.