Sociolinguistic (and some applied linguistic) research dealing with questions of gender and sexuality has undergone significant change in the past 10-15 years, as a paradigm organized around the concept of binary difference has been superseded by one that is concerned with the diversity of gendered and sexual identities and practices. Here the theoretical foundations for the shift in approach--provisionally characterized as a kind of "postmodern turn"--are discussed, along with the motivations for it; three areas of empirical research illustrating its practical consequences are then examined in more detail. Some present and future challenges facing researchers in this field of inquiry are also identified and assessed.