Heteronormativity

Heteronormativity – is the belief that people fall into 2 separate & complementary genders, and that heterosexuality is the only normal & natural expression of sexuality

Heteronormativity is another bias in how the assumptions we make about people and the world, and therefore clouds our perceptions.

It is important to not make the assumption that everyone you meet is heterosexual, this is a common way that heteronormativity shows up in our day to day life. It shows up in the assumption that a couple made up of a man and a woman means that both partners are heterosexual. The reality is that one or both partners may be bisexual or pansexual. You cannot tell anything about an individual’s or a couple’s sexual orientation just by looking at them.

Although it may seem like a little thing to those who are heterosexual, it continues a processing of making anyone else an ‘other’ and when we ‘other’ people we tend to see them as less than, strange or broken in some way. The reality is that those who are not heterosexual are simply part of natural human variation.