Editing Heterosexism (section)

== Background ==
While the ''[[Webster's Dictionary|Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary]]'' notes the first use of the term heterosexism as having occurred in 1972, the term was first published in 1971 by [[gay rights activist]], [[Craig Rodwell]].<ref>Rodwell, Craig. ' 'The Tarnished Golden Rule' ' pg. 5, QQ Magazine, Queen's Quarterly Publishing, New York. (January/February 1971 issue, Vol. 3, No. 1) Retrieved July 21, 2011.</ref>

===Etymology and usage===
Similar terms include "heterocentrism" and "heterosexualism".<ref>Corsini, Raymond J. (1992). ''The Dictionary of Psychology''. {{ISBN|1-58391-328-9}}.</ref> Although the well-established term ''heterosexism'' is often explained as a [[Neologism|coinage]] modeled on ''[[sexism]]'', the derivation of its meaning points more to (1.) ''heterosex(ual)'' + ''-ism'' than (2.) ''hetero-'' + ''sexism''. In fact, the word ''heterosexualism'' has been used as an equivalent to sexism and racism.<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu"/>

Given this lack of [[Transparency (linguistic)#Descriptive|semantic transparency]], researchers, outreach workers, [[critical theorists]] and [[LGBT]] activists have proposed and use terms such as ''institutionalized homophobia'', ''state(-sponsored) homophobia'',<ref>International Lesbian and Gay Association. [http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=1058&FileCategory=10&ZoneID=7 "State-sponsored Homophobia"]</ref> ''sexual prejudice'', ''anti-gay [[bigotry]]'', ''[[straight privilege]]'', ''[[La pensée straight|The Straight Mind]]'' (a collection of essays by French writer [[Monique Wittig]]), ''heterosexual bias'', ''[[compulsory heterosexuality]]''<ref>LGBTQ on-line encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture</ref> or the much lesser known terms ''heterocentrism'', ''[[homonegativity]]'', and from [[gender theory]] and [[queer theory]], ''[[heteronormativity]]''. However, not all of these descriptors are synonymous to ''heterosexism''.

===Contrast to homophobia===

''[[Homophobia]]'', a form of heterosexism, refers both to "unreasoning fear of or [[antipathy]] towards homosexuals and homosexuality"<ref name=dictionary.com>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homophobia|title=Dictionary.com|access-date=2008-01-29|year=2008|publisher=Dictionary.com}}</ref> and to "behavior based on such a feeling".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/homophobia |title=homophobia – Dictionary definition and pronunciation – Yahoo! Education |publisher=Education.yahoo.com |access-date=2014-01-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204061410/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/homophobia |archive-date=2013-12-04 }}</ref> ''Heterosexism'', however, more broadly denotes the "system of ideological thought that makes heterosexuality the sole norm to follow for sexual practices".<ref name="granddictionnaire.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.granddictionnaire.com/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=8373795#eng |title=Accueil |publisher=Granddictionnaire.com |date=2013-05-13 |access-date=2014-01-12}}</ref> As a bias favoring heterosexuals and heterosexuality, heterosexism has been described as being "encoded into and characteristic of the major social, cultural, and economic institutions of our [[society]]"<ref>Dines, Gail (2002). ''Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader''. {{ISBN|0-7619-2261-X}}.</ref> and stems from the [[essentialist]] cultural notion that [[maleness]]-[[masculinity]] and femaleness-[[femininity]] are complementary.

Researcher, author, and psychology professor Gregory M. Herek states that "[Heterosexism] operates through a dual process of invisibility and attack. Homosexuality usually remains culturally invisible; when people who engage in homosexual behavior or who are identified as homosexual become visible, they are subject to attack by society."<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu">{{cite web |url=http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/HTML/prej_defn.html |author= Gregory M. Herek
|title=Definitions: Sexual Prejudice, Homophobia, and Heterosexism |publisher=Psychology.ucdavis.edu |access-date=2014-01-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229154227/http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/prej_defn.html |archive-date=2013-12-29 }}</ref> Furthermore, in interviews with perpetrators of [[anti-gay violence]], [[Forensic psychology|forensic psychologist]] Karen Franklin points out that "heterosexism is not just a personal [[value system]], [rather] it is a tool in the maintenance of [[gender]] dichotomy."<ref name="Franklin">Franklin, Karen (1998). "Inside the Minds of People Who Hate Gays" Retrieved May 29, 2008: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/roots/franklin.html</ref> She continues by saying that "assaults on homosexuals and other individuals who deviate from [[Gender role|sex role]] norms are viewed as a learned form of [[social control]] of deviance rather than a defensive response to personal threat."<ref name="Franklin"/>

===Parallels and intersections===
{{Rquote|right|Using the term heterosexism highlights the parallels between antigay sentiment and other forms of prejudice, such as [[racism]], [[antisemitism]], and [[sexism]].  |[[Gregory M. Herek]], researcher, author, and professor of psychology at [[University of California at Davis|UC Davis]].<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu"/>}}

It has been argued that the concept of heterosexism is similar to the concept of [[racism]] in that both ideas promote privilege for dominant groups within a given society. For example, borrowing from the racial concept of [[white privilege]], the concept of [[heterosexual privilege]]<ref name="genderknot149">{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Allan J.|title=The Gender Knot|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia|year=1997|page=149|isbn=1-56639-519-4}}</ref> has been applied to benefits of (presumed) heterosexuality within society that heterosexuals take for granted. The analogy is that just as racism against non-white people places white people as superior to [[Person of color|people of color]], heterosexism places heterosexual people or relationships as superior to [[non-heterosexual]] ones. In trying to rebut this premise, some commentators point to differences<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.bet.com/news/youthvote/4-reasons-why-gay-is-not-the-new-black/4|title=Celebrities|access-date=4 July 2016}}</ref> between the categories of race and sexual orientation, claiming they are too complex to support any generalizations.  For example, "[[Diversity training|trainer on diversity]]" and consultant Jamie Washington has commented, although heterosexism and racism are "woven from the same fabric" they are "not the same thing".<ref>[http://susquehanna.edu/crusader/article.cfm?IssueID=59&SectionID=1&ArticleID=2573 Issues of race and sexuality discussed, Susquehanna Crusader Online, accessed Aug 29, 2009 ]</ref>  Some American Conservative leaders such as Rev. Irene Monroe comment that those who suggest or state "gay is the new black", as in a cover story of ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'' magazine,<ref>[http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid65744.asp Gay is the New Black, accessed Aug 30, 2009]</ref> exploit [[black people]]'s suffering and experiences to legitimize their own.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irenemonroe.com/2008/12/16/gay-is-not-the-new-black/ |title=Gay is NOT the new Black, accessed Aug 29, 2009 |access-date=August 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302232756/http://www.irenemonroe.com/2008/12/16/gay-is-not-the-new-black/ |archive-date=March 2, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nonetheless, a study presented at the [[British Psychological Society]]'s Division of Occupational Psychology 2009 Conference shows that heterosexist prejudice is more pervasive than racism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bps.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/releases$/division-of-occupational-psychology/prejudice-study-finds-gay-is-the-new-black.cfm |title=Prejudice study finds gay is the new black, accessed Sept 3, 2009 |access-date=2009-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123035152/http://www.bps.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/releases$/division-of-occupational-psychology/prejudice-study-finds-gay-is-the-new-black.cfm |archive-date=2009-01-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Heterosexism can also [[Intersectionality|intersect]] with racism by [[further]] emphasizing differences among arbitrary groups of people.<ref name="tatum22">{{cite book|last=Tatum|first=Beverly|title=Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?|publisher=Basic Books|year=1997|pages=21–22}}</ref> For example, heterosexism can compound the effects of racism by:
* promoting injustices towards a person already facing injustices because of their race
* establishing [[social hierarchies]] that allow one group more privilege than other groups.

Likewise, racism can allow LGBT people to be subjected to additional discrimination or violence if they belong to or are considered a part of a socially devalued racial category.<ref>(2008) Heterosexism and Homophobia. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, 2, 1–4. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Gale Virtual Reference Library: http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.</ref> Some of the privileges afforded to people falling into the categories of white people and (perceived) heterosexuals include, but are not limited to, social acceptance, prestige, freedom from negative [[stereotypes]], and the comfort of being within the [[social norm]] and thereby not being [[marginalized]] or viewed as different.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simoni |first1=Jane M. |last2=Walters |first2=Karina L. |title=Heterosexual Identity and Heterosexism: Recognizing Privilege to Reduce Prejudice |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |date=2001 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=157–172 |doi=10.1300/J082v41n01_06}}</ref>