Hetero- and Cisnormativity

These are two distinct but related terms, both phenomena existing to control the lives and bodies of queer people.

Heteronormativity is the culturally-ingrained assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual (Barker, 2014). An example of how we are socialized into heteronormativity in childhood (that is, how we learn to view heterosexuality as the default) is when we are shown representations of families consisting of a man and a woman with children. If you were ever told as a child some variation of “when you have a husband/wife” (i.e. when you marry someone of the opposite sex), that’s heteronormativity.

Cisnormativity is the related assumption that all people are cisgender, and that being cisgender (having no incongruence between your sex and gender) is the “right” way to exist (Cambridge, n.d.).

Hetero- and cisnormativity are assumptions as much as they are moral guidelines. That is, being heterosexual and cisgender is the morally good or pure way of existing, with all other ways of being marked as deviant or abnormal (Barker, 2014). To even speak of the existence of other sexualities and genders - other kinds of families and bodies - is morally reprehensible, which in turn leads to public policy and law that forbids the representation of anything other than heterosexual/cisgender people (i.e. Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law).

References

Barker, M. (2014). Heteronormativity. In Teo, T. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_134

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Cisnormativity. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved May 8th, 2024, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cisnormativity.