The phrase "compulsory heterosexuality" is a legitimate and commonly used term in written English.
It is typically used in discussions about gender and sexuality to describe the perceived societal pressure for individuals to conform to heterosexual norms and behaviors. An example of the phrase in a sentence could be: "Many queer individuals struggle with the effects of compulsory heterosexuality, as they are constantly bombarded with messages that their identity is not valid or accepted."
The term "compulsory heterosexuality" has been adopted by the gender theorist Judith Butler, among others.
I'd never read anything at that time about compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence.
Her 1980 essay Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence condemned "a political institution which disempowers women" and questioned the systematic repression of lesbianism.
It also refused to acknowledge that not all of the students were straight, moulding the prom into a night of compulsory heterosexuality.
In addition, lesbian feminism was challenged for making the struggle against compulsory heterosexuality primary, in the process minimizing other forms of oppression that women experience and downplaying differences of privilege among women.
The fervent organizing of the 1960s and early 1970s led NOW and other gay rights and feminist organizations to support lesbians' struggle against compulsory heterosexuality and other forms of oppression that lesbians experienced.
Others believed that the compulsory nature of heterosexuality in our culture precluded all possibilities of women freely choosing a heterosexual relationship.
Romantic love, familial structures, traditional gender roles, and even the U.S. economic structure reinforced heterosexuality, making it compulsory and leaving its putative normalcy unquestioned.
Understanding heterosexuality as a forced contract or compulsory institution, they argue that women's relationships with men are persistently characterized by domination and subordination.
Srikanth thus argues that heterosexuality is not only natural but also compulsory and coming out of homosexuality is both possible and desirable.
Their alleged offense: heterosexuality.
