Heteronormativity

Heteronormativity is a system and set of beliefs that uphold heterosexuality and the sex and gender binaries as the norm and default, thereby affecting societal views on and attitudes toward sex, gender, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. The gender binary asserts that only two genders exist, men and women, which are based upon the corollary sex binary. Cisgender (cis) refers to people with a gender identity that is aligned with their sex assigned at birth (e.g., an individual assigned female at birth who identifies as a girl/woman), while transgender (trans) refers to people with a gender identity that is not aligned with their sex assigned at birth (e.g., an individual assigned male at birth who identifies as a girl/woman). Heteronormativity is based on heterosexuality as ...