Heteronormativity

The assumption, embedded in society, that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the only normal or default way to be. Heteronormativity makes straightness invisible as a norm while marking queerness as different, deviant, or noteworthy.

Heteronormativity shows up everywhere: in the assumption that a person's partner is the opposite gender, in advertising that only shows straight couples, in legal systems built around marriage and kinship of two opposite-gender people, and in the daily micro-questions like "do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?" that assume the wrong answer.

Heteronormativity harms everyone — it erases queer people, pressures people into conforming to straight roles, and reinforces rigid gender norms. It is the foundation on which homophobia and transphobia are built.