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Data collected via participant observation in the course of face-to-face encounters at various sites in central Israel, 1996-2002, are drawn on to examine the discourse used by young lesbians (ages 20-30) to define & present themselves in interactions with heterosexual women. Following a brief theoretical background that emphasizes the ever-evolving construction of identity & how this is accomplished & strengthened through dialogue, four main identity components -- the feminine, the lesbian, the individual, & the Israeli -- defined by these lesbian respondents are explored. Discursive strategies that these women use to either avoid revealing or subtly or overtly disclose their sexual identity are identified. Lesbians' use of heterosexual women as \"alternative significant others\" to whom they can display alternating aspects of their identity is described. References. K. Hyatt Stewart