Membership categorization devices under construction

This paper draws upon the sociological tradition of language analysis, specifically Sacks’ work on membership categorisation devices. The paper argues that processes of evaluating and assigning membership of categories within given collectivities may be identified as operating across diverse social contexts. The contexts selected for analysis here include a formal written text, an interview, and a cabaret performance. The participants range from senior University academics to drag queens. It is concluded that the maintenance of social identity boundaries is not just dependent on ‘knowing’ the status of one’s own category membership, but upon accomplishing this membership through the interactional work of hierarchical categorisations in writing and talk.