Interestingly though, research suggests while men's brains routinely respond to erotic stimuli in alignment with the sexual orientation they self-identify as, this is rarely the case for women. It found internalised homophobia – NOT sexual attraction – was the most accurate predictor of straight identification across people of all age groups and genders. (It could also be argued – and it has been, by numerous academics and authors on the subject – that sexual identity is a social construct, because sexuality is far more complex and nuanced than something we can neatly pack into a box and slap a label on.)Ī 2018 study published in the journal, Social Forces, seems to confirm this. Though it's rarely discussed, research has long suggested very few women are actually straight, at least, not as far as the traditional definition of heterosexuality is concerned. I've found myself on the receiving end of these comments in real-life, too, by well-meaning strangers and peers alike. Since my own coming out, barely a day has passed when I haven't opened social media to see a comment suggesting my queerness is a performance, a cry for attention from men, or a reaction to not being able to find "a good man".
Queer women and femme-identifying people face disproportionate discrimination and violence as a result of this, and are additionally far more likely to have our relationships stigmatised, fetishised, and delegitimised. To identify as anything outside of this, and rebel against the idea that appeasing men is the price we pay for admission into the world as women, is to threaten the entire ecosystem of the forest. Instead of recognising what's around us, compulsory heterosexuality (the idea of presenting straightness as a kind of "default setting") teaches women to view ourselves through the lens of the male gaze. When using a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo check the safe search settings where you can exclude adult content sites from your search results Īsk your internet service provider if they offer additional filters īe responsible, know what your children are doing online.That's the thing about heteronormative culture it takes roots in our lives that grow into branches which weave themselves around us so insidiously, we can't see the forest we're walking through. Use family filters of your operating systems and/or browsers Other steps you can take to protect your children are: More information about the RTA Label and compatible services can be found here. Parental tools that are compatible with the RTA label will block access to this site. We use the "Restricted To Adults" (RTA) website label to better enable parental filtering.
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