Sexuality is commonly thought of as an orientation towards either opposite sex (heterosexual) or same sex (homosexual) relationships or both (bisexual). This, however, does not fully represent the lived experience of people who would not describe themselves as heterosexual. Bisexual people experience sexual/romantic attraction to more than one sex or gender, not just to men and women. Pansexual people are attracted to any sex or gender identity. Asexual people may not experience sexual attraction, though this does not necessarily mean asexual people don’t have sex. This is not an exhaustive list of terminology for sexual identities and these definitions evolve over time and are often very personal to the individual. Many people are comfortable with a fluidity between these sexual expressions and do not feel the need to conform to one or any. The word ‘queer’, having once been an insult, is now often a preferred description that takes in all these possibilities. This can all seem like a lot of new information to heterosexual people who have never had to think about or explain their own relationship to sexual attraction. The word ‘heteronormativity’ has been used to describe the way that societies deliberately or unthinkingly promote heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation to a greater or lesser degree. In the UK, although views about queerness have become liberalised, especially with the advent of same-sex marriage, it is still a heteronormative society and this continues to affect the experience of queer people. This Genderbread Person breaks a complicated concept into bite-sized, digestible pieces to create better understanding. There’s sort of a ‘heterosexualisation’ of gay couples, they assume there’s going to be one that is more masculine and one that’s more feminine This article was published on 2024-03-06
