Heterosexism

Heterosexism is the assumption that heterosexuality is the natural, default, or superior orientation, and the individual and institutional discrimination that follows from it. It shows up in laws, media, workplaces, and everyday interactions that privilege straight people while denying, excluding, or stigmatizing LGBTQ+ lives. A closely related term, heteronormativity, describes the cultural bias that treats opposite-sex relationships as standard and same-sex relationships as exceptions. Heterosexism is less about personal hostility and more about power and structure, which is why scholars compare it to racism and sexism. Recognizing heterosexuality as one orientation among many, rather than the baseline everyone is measured against, is central to challenging it.