Table of Contents
Definition of Heterosexism
(noun) Actions and behaviors which institutionalize or reify opposite-sex attraction as the only legitimate and “normal” sexual relation, at the expense of all others.
Heterosexism Pronunciation
Syllabification: het·er·o·sex·ism
Audio Pronunciation
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌhɛdəroʊˈsɛkˌsɪz(ə)m/
- British English – /ˌhɛt(ə)rə(ʊ)ˈsɛksɪz(ə)m/
Usage Note
- Plural: heterosexisms
Additional Information
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “heterosexism” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Cite the Definition of Heterosexism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “heterosexism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/heterosexism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
heterosexism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/heterosexism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “heterosexism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/heterosexism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“heterosexism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/heterosexism/>.