What to know

Heteronormativity is the position that heterosexuality is the default or “normal” sexual orientation, which in turn implies that any other sexual orientation is abnormal or unnatural. It also assumes that binary genders are the norm and that anything else is an aberration. Heteronormativity and the dynamics thereof position LGBTQ+ and gender-variant people to have to explain, defend, and/or justify their sexual orientation or gender in ways that heterosexual and cisgender people do not. For instance, heterosexual and cisgender people may identify their pronouns far less frequently than LGBTQ+ and gender-variant people do, primarily because their identities are validated by heteronormativity. To avoid perpetuating heteronormativity, it’s helpful to apply identifiers equally across all sources; for instance, if identifying someone as queer (when relevant), also identify someone as straight (when relevant).

Additional resources

• What Is Heteronormativity? (Verywell Health)
• Why Heteronormativity Is a Bad Thing (Teen Vogue)

Summary

Heteronormativity is the belief that heterosexuality is the default or “normal” sexual orientation, which in turn implies that any other sexual orientation is abnormal or unnatural. It also assumes that binary genders are the norm and that anything else is an aberration. To avoid perpetuating heteronormativity, it’s helpful to apply identifiers equally across all sources; for instance, if identifying someone as queer (when relevant), also identify someone as straight (when relevant).

Related terms

• LGBTQ/LGBTQiA/LGBTQ+
• gender
• gendered language
• pronouns