In 2012, Dolly Koshy, a techie from Bengaluru, was one of the 15 women to rev up their engines and ride the streets during the Dykes on Bikes rally at the LGBT Pride Parade March. A notable symbol of queer pride, the original outfit was founded in 1976 at the San Francisco Pride Parade when a group of female motorcyclists gathered to ride side-by-side. Since the first protest, Dyke Marches have sprung up in cities around the world. “We weren’t an official chapter of the group, but we adopted it to show our solidarity. Those days, we would have meetings before the event, secure permissions and always be the ones leading the march,” says Koshy, who is proud and out, and continues to identify as dyke, although the outfit disbanded eight years ago. 

But recent developments may make it problematic for those who want to publicly use the word, however well-intentioned. Recently, Facebook users in Plymouth who mentioned the Plymouth Hoe and Devil’s Dyke in Sussex were muted and blocked. The social media giant had to apologise after branding the Hoe and Dyke ‘hate speech’.