Happy Pride Month!! 🌈
In honor of Pride, I want to talk about something that is so pervasive we often don't even see it unless it impacts us directly — heteronormativity.
Not to cis-plain here, but in case you haven’t heard the term before — Heteronormativity is the social belief that heterosexuality, and by extension the gender binary, is natural, default, preferred, or normal.
Whenever we declare one group "normal" we automatically imply that other groups are somehow “less normal” and in so doing we create a social hierarchy. Which means that groups outside that dominant or normal group then face more marginalization, more barriers, fewer opportunities, less representation, and greater risk of discrimination and harm.
Those harms are quantifiable and have been well researched and reported. The Institute for Gender & the Economy has documented the "lavender ceiling” in Canada, one example being LGBTQ+ folks are 4.4% of the population but only 0.15% of corporate directors - an order of magnitude difference in representation. And we know that LGBTQ+ folks in Canada report higher incidents of harassment and violence, even in Canada where we have pretty good laws compared to many other places in the world.
Interestingly, heteronormativity is not inevitable. It's not even biologically predetermined. We know this because there is evidence of diverse gender expressions and sexual orientations in pre-colonial societies all over the world. Queerness and gender non-conformity are not modern inventions. They've been part of humanity for as long as humanity has existed.
Like so many of the social constructs we've explored, heteronormativity is just a social system we created and then normalized. And because we created it, we can create something different, better and more inclusive.
How do we know heteronormativity when we see it? As always, start by digging up some of your own assumptions and beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity. Where did those assumptions and beliefs come from? Where can you question them?
Do a scan of the media you're consuming — are the characters and stories being told predominantly gender binary and heteronormative? Look at your social and family circles. How much diversity is present there?
The cool thing about recognizing these social systems is that it frees us up to see things differently and make different choices. To literally get out of the box, which is good for us all.
Enjoy celebrating Pride with your family and friends this month! And good luck dismantling heteronormativity — let's see what we can do! ✨🏳️🌈
Love,
Belinda
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