heterosexuality
heterosexuality
Pronunciation
/ˌhɛtəroʊˌsɛkʃuˈælɪti/
het: /ˌhɛt/ - Consists of the voiceless glottal fricative /h/, the open-mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/, and the voiceless alveolar plosive /t/.
e - This sound is typically unstressed and reduced to a schwa /ə/ or a syllabic consonant in American English.
ro: /roʊ/ - Consists of the voiced alveolar trill /r/ and the close-mid back rounded vowel /oʊ/.
sex: /ˌsɛkʃ/ - Consists of the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, the open-mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/, the voiceless velar plosive /k/ and the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/.
u: /ʃu/ - Consists of the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ followed by the close back rounded vowel /u/.
al: /uˈæl/ - Consists of the voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/ followed by the near-open front unrounded vowel /æ/.
i: /ˈælɪ/ - This is an unstressed schwa /ə/ in the middle of the word.
ty: /ˈælɪti/ - Consists of the voiced alveolar plosive /t/ followed by the close front unrounded vowel /ɪ/.
Word Form Variations
Noun:
heterosexuality (singular)
heterosexualities (plural)
Adjective:
heterosexual
Adverb:
heterosexually
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: The quality or state of being sexually attracted to individuals of the opposite sex. This is considered the most common definition of the word.
Synonyms: n/a
Antonyms: homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality
Definition 2: A sexual orientation in which a person experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction to members of the opposite gender.
Synonyms: straightness, heteronormativity
Antonyms: homosexuality, bisexuality, pansexuality, asexuality
Examples of Use
Books and Academia
"Most people declare and enact a straight, heterosexual identity; even if individuals engage in sexual behavior involving a partner or partners of the same sex, most report that they still consider themselves to be heterosexual because they are primarily attracted to persons of the opposite sex and gender." (Jodi O'Brien, Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, 2008)
The groundbreaking work The Invention of Heterosexuality by Jonathan Ned Katz challenges the notion that heterosexuality is a timeless, universal norm, tracing its historical emergence as a concept. (University of Chicago Press, 1995)
In the field of queer theory, "heteronormativity" is a widely discussed concept, defined as the presumption that heterosexuality is the standard or preferred sexual orientation. (Oswald et al., Journal of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People, 2019)
Newspapers and Online Publications
"Many people now insist on the removal of not just all other legal disabilities of homosexuality, but of all legal preferences for heterosexuality..." (Case Western Reserve University Law Review, 2007)
"While heterosexuality or straightness is the most common sexual orientation, people who identify with other sexualities are just as 'normal.' In fact, the stigma that only straight people are normal is harmful." (WebMD, July 2023)
A study examining media representations of transgender people noted that a "critical perspective on normative gender performance is... applied in this paper," as well as an approach to the discursive strategies of journalists, who in their reporting, often reinforce a discourse where "heterosexuality is something uniform, natural, and universal." (Taylor & Francis Online, August 2018)
Entertainment and Media
The 1940 Broadway musical Pal Joey included a song titled "Zip" with the lyric, "I don't like a deep contralto, or a man whose voice is alto, Zip, I'm a heterosexual."
"On all broadcast networks, cable television and streaming services, the presence of regular characters identifying as LGBTQ increased anywhere from 2 to 7 percent since last year..." This rise in representation is often cited in discussions about how media exposure can influence viewer attitudes towards sexualities other than heterosexuality. (GLAAD, October 2024)
"An intimate heterosexual couple, a man and woman in an intimate relationship, form the core of a nuclear family." This type of image has been used in countless movies, television shows, and advertisements, reinforcing traditional ideas of family and relationships. (Wikipedia, July 2023)
General Public Discourse
Discussions around marriage equality often centered on the distinction between homosexuality and heterosexuality, with some arguments rooted in the idea that marriage is, by definition, a union exclusive to heterosexuality.
The term "straight pride" emerged in public discourse as a response to LGBTQ+ pride events, often with the argument that if there can be "gay pride," there should also be a public recognition of heterosexuality.
The phrase "compulsory heterosexuality," originating in feminist theory, has become more common in public conversations about social pressure to conform to heterosexual norms, particularly in the context of gender roles and expectations.
10 Famous Quotes Using Heterosexuality
"The failure to examine heterosexuality as an institution is like failing to admit that the economic system called capitalism or the caste system of racism is maintained by a variety of forces, including both physical violence and false consciousness." - Adrienne Rich, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." - Dorothy Parker
"There is object proof that homosexuality is more interesting than heterosexuality. It's that one knows a considerable number of heterosexuals who would wish to become homosexuals, whereas one knows very few homosexuals who would really like to become heterosexuals." - Michel Foucault
"The heterosexual did not have a linguistic existence in the early Victorian era, which was characterized instead by gender-based standards of 'true womanhood' and 'true manhood.'" - Jonathan Ned Katz, The Invention of Heterosexuality
"Women don't go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies." - Morrissey
"There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only homo- or heterosexual acts." - Gore Vidal
"Males do not represent two discrete populations, homosexual and heterosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheeps and goats." - Alfred Kinsey
"Another argument, vaguer and even less persuasive, is that gay marriage somehow does harm to heterosexual marriage." - Ted Olson
"A queer phenomenology would involve an orientation toward queer, a way to inhabit the world that gives support to those whose lives and loves make them appear oblique, strange, and out of place." This quote doesn't use the exact word "heterosexuality", so a better choice would be the following: "It is the lesbian in us who drives us to feel imaginatively, render in language, grasp, the full connection between woman and woman... this is a source of energy, a potential springhead of female power, violently curtailed and wasted under the institution of heterosexuality." - Adrienne Rich, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence
"The exception was anything about the 'Holocaust,' for which Jewish male authors, even those of the heterosexual persuasion, were acceptable." - William Luther Pierce, Hunter
Etymology
The word "heterosexuality" is a relatively new invention, and its history is quite surprising.
The word is made up of two parts: "hetero" and "sexuality." The prefix "hetero-" comes from the ancient Greek word héteros, which means "other," "different," or "another." This is combined with "sexuality," a term that became widely used in the late 19th century.
The word "heterosexual" was first coined in the 1860s by an Austro-Hungarian journalist named Karl Maria Kertbeny, in a letter to protest laws against same-sex relations. Kertbeny created the term "homosexual" (from the Greek homo, meaning "same") and "heterosexual" as a way to classify sexual attraction. At the time, what we now call heterosexuality was simply seen as the natural order of things, so there was no need for a special word to describe it.
The word entered the English language in 1892, in a translation of a German medical book, Psychopathia Sexualis. Interestingly, the word's first meaning was not what we understand it to be today. Early medical definitions, such as in the 1901 Dorland's Medical Dictionary, defined "heterosexuality" as an "abnormal or perverted appetite toward the opposite sex." It was used to describe people who were obsessed with sex in a way that was considered "unnatural," even if it was with a person of the opposite gender. This was a time when medical professionals were trying to categorize and pathologize various sexual behaviors.
It wasn't until the 1930s that the definition shifted to what we know today: a "manifestation of sexual passion for one of the opposite sex; normal sexuality." This change marked a turning point where heterosexuality became not just a medical term, but a social norm and identity.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Heterosexuality
Phrases and Idioms with "Heterosexuality"
The institution of heterosexuality: This academic phrase refers to the idea that heterosexuality is not just a personal orientation, but a social and political system that shapes culture, laws, and norms.
Compulsory heterosexuality: A feminist theory that describes the social pressure and expectation for individuals to be heterosexual, regardless of their actual desires.
The assumption of heterosexuality: The widespread belief or social default that everyone is heterosexual until proven otherwise.
A heterosexuality-based worldview: A way of seeing the world in which heterosexual relationships are considered the standard and most important type of relationship.
Idioms with Synonyms ("Straight")
To go straight: This idiom typically means to stop a life of crime. While not directly related to sexuality, its use of "straight" to mean "correct" or "normal" reflects the historical perception of heterosexuality.
The straight and narrow: Refers to a morally upright path or a conventional way of living, often used to imply a heterosexual, traditional lifestyle.
Play it straight: To act or behave in a serious or conventional manner, without humor or deviation.
Original Phrases and Idioms
To walk the path of heterosexuality: To follow a conventional or traditional life path in terms of relationships and family.
Living in the shadow of heterosexuality: To feel as though your non-heterosexual identity is overshadowed by the dominant culture of heterosexuality.
Heterosexuality is the water we swim in: An idiom to suggest that heterosexuality is so pervasive and normalized in society that it can be invisible to those within it, much like fish are unaware of the water they inhabit.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of heterosexuality from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
