Editing Heterosexuality (section)

== Society and culture ==
{{See also|History of human sexuality|Human mating strategies}}
[[File:Just a touch is all I need.jpg|thumb|An intimate heterosexual couple]]

A heterosexual couple, a man and woman in an [[intimate relationship]], form the core of a [[nuclear family]].<ref>"... the core of a family is a heterosexual couple who have children who they raise to adulthood - the so-called nuclear family." [https://books.google.com/books?id=DcLZvQIzTakC&q=heterosexual+couple+core+of+a+nuclear+family.&pg=PA429 Encyclopedia of family health]</ref>
Many societies throughout history have insisted that a [[marriage]] take place before the couple settle down, but enforcement of this rule or compliance with it has varied considerably.

=== Symbolism ===
[[File:Heterosexual symbol (bold, red blue).svg|140px|thumb|upright|A heterosexuality symbol]]

Heterosexual symbolism dates back to the earliest artifacts of humanity, with [[gender symbols]], ritual fertility carvings, and primitive art. This was later expressed in the symbolism of [[fertility rites]] and [[Polytheism#Historical polytheism|polytheistic worship]], which often included images of human [[Sex organ|reproductive organs]], such as [[lingam]] in [[Hinduism]]. Modern symbols of heterosexuality in societies derived from European traditions still reference symbols used in these ancient beliefs. One such image is a combination of the symbol for [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], the Roman god of war, as the definitive [[male]] symbol of masculinity, and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], the Roman goddess of love and beauty, as the definitive [[female]] symbol of femininity. The [[unicode]] character for this combined symbol is ⚤ (U+26A4).

===Historical views===
There was no need to coin a term such as ''heterosexual'' until terms emerged with which it could be compared and contrasted. Jonathan Ned Katz dates the definition of heterosexuality, as it is used today, to the late 19th century.<ref name="Katz">{{cite journal|last1=Katz|first1=Jonathan Ned|title=The Invention of Heterosexuality|journal=Socialist Review|date=January–March 1990|issue=20|pages=7–34|url=https://english101sp2015.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/jonathan-katz_the-invention-of-heterosexuality.pdf|access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref> According to Katz, in the [[Victorian era]], sex was seen as a means to achieve reproduction, and relations between the sexes were not believed to be overtly sexual. The body was thought of as a tool for procreation – "Human energy, thought of as a closed and severely limited system, was to be used in producing children and in work, not wasted in libidinous pleasures."<ref name="Katz"/>

Katz argues that modern ideas of [[sexuality]] and [[eroticism]] began to develop in America and Germany in the later 19th century. The changing economy and the "transformation of the family from producer to consumer"<ref name="Katz"/> resulted in shifting values. The Victorian work ethic had changed, pleasure became more highly valued and this allowed ideas of human sexuality to change. [[Consumer culture]] had created a market for the erotic, pleasure became [[commoditized]]. At the same time medical doctors began to acquire more power and influence. They developed the medical model of "normal love", in which healthy men and women enjoyed sex as part of a "new ideal of male-female relationships that included.. an essential, necessary, normal eroticism."<ref name="Katz"/> This model also had a counterpart, "the Victorian Sex Pervert", anyone who failed to meet the [[Norm (social)|norm]]. The basic oppositeness of the sexes was the basis for normal, healthy sexual attraction. "The attention paid the sexual abnormal created a need to name the sexual normal, the better to distinguish the average him and her from the deviant it."<ref name="Katz"/> The creation of the term ''heterosexual'' consolidated the social existence of the pre-existing heterosexual experience and created a sense of ensured and validated normalcy within it.

=== Religious views ===
{{See also|Religion and sexuality}}
{{multiple image
| align             = vertical
| width1            = 186
| image1            = Peter Paul Rubens - Adam and Eve, after Titian, between 1628 and 1629.jpg
| caption1          = According to the [[creation myth]] of the [[Abrahamic religions]], [[Adam and Eve]] are the first human couple and the ancestors of all humanity.
}}

The [[Judeo-Christian]] tradition has several scriptures related to heterosexuality. The [[Book of Genesis]] states that God created women because "It is not good that the man should be alone;  I will make him an help meet for him,",<ref>''Bible'', {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:18|KJV}} (KJV)</ref> and that "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh"<ref>''Bible'', {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:24|KJV}} (KJV)</ref>

For the most part, religious traditions in the world reserve [[marriage]] to heterosexual unions, but there are exceptions including certain [[Buddhist]] and [[Hindu]] traditions, [[Unitarian Universalist]]s, [[Metropolitan Community Church]], some [[homosexuality and Anglicanism#Anglican Church of Canada|Anglican]] dioceses, and some [[Quaker]], [[United Church of Canada]], and [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] congregations.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Religions and Same Sex Marriage|url=http://marriagelaw.cua.edu/publications/wrr.pdf|website=[[Columbus School of Law]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620162822/http://marriagelaw.cua.edu/publications/wrr.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2007|access-date=1 April 2018|date=20 June 2007}}</ref><ref name=united>[http://www.united-church.ca/exploring/marriage/affirmingcongregations Affirming Congregations and Ministries of the United Church of Canada] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224005434/http://www.united-church.ca/exploring/marriage/affirmingcongregations |date=February 24, 2012 }}</ref>

Almost all religions believe that sex between a man and a woman within marriage is allowed, but there are a few that believe that it is a sin, such as The [[Shakers]], The [[Harmony Society]], and The [[Ephrata Cloister]]. These religions tend to view all sexual relations as [[sin]]ful, and promote [[celibacy]]. Some religions require [[celibacy]] for certain roles, such as [[Catholic priests]]; however, the [[Catholic Church]] also views heterosexual marriage as sacred and necessary.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm#I] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201031249/https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm#I|date=February 1, 2015}}</ref>

=== Heteronormativity and heterosexism ===
{{See also|Ex-gay movement|Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment|National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality}}
[[File:Man-and-woman-icon.svg|thumb|upright|right|This image is often used on Straight Pride T-shirts]]

[[Heteronormativity]] denotes or relates to a world view that promotes heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation for people to have. It can assign strict gender roles to males and females. The term was popularized by [[Michael Warner]] in 1991.<ref>Warner, Michael (1991), "Introduction: Fear of a Queer Planet". ''Social Text''; 9 (4 [29]): 3–17</ref> Feminist [[Adrienne Rich]] argues that [[compulsory heterosexuality]], a continual and repeating reassertion of heterosexual norms, is a facet of heterosexism.<ref>Rich, Adrienne (1980), "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence". "Signs"; Pages 631-660.</ref> Compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that female heterosexuality is both assumed and enforced by a patriarchal society. Heterosexuality is then viewed as the natural inclination or obligation by both sexes. Consequently, anyone who differs from the normalcy of heterosexuality is deemed deviant or abhorrent.<ref name=":0'">{{cite book|last=Rich|first=Adrienne|title=Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence|year=1980|publisher=Onlywomen Press Ltd|isbn=0-906500-07-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/compulsoryhetero00rich/page/32 32]|url=https://archive.org/details/compulsoryhetero00rich/page/32}}</ref>

[[Heterosexism]] is a form of [[bias]] or [[discrimination]] in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It may include an assumption that everyone is heterosexual and may involve various kinds of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, asexuals, [[heteroflexible]] people, or transgender or [[non-binary]] individuals.

[[Straight pride]] is a slogan that arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has been used primarily by [[Social conservatism|social conservative]] groups as a political stance and strategy.<ref name="Massachusetts">{{cite web|url=http://www.massresistance.org/docs/downloads/romney/CommReport_Making_Colleges_Safe_7-93.pdf|title=Making colleges and universities safe for gay and lesbian students: Report and recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth|publisher=Massachusetts. Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth}}, p.20. "A relatively recent tactic used in the backlash opposing les/bi/gay/trans campus visibility is the so-called "heterosexual pride" strategy".</ref> The term is described as a response to [[gay pride]]<ref name="Shifting Sands">{{cite book|last=Eliason|first=Michele J.|author2=Schope, Robert |chapter=Shifting Sands or Solid Foundation? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Identity Formation|title=The Health of Sexual Minorities|editor1=Meyer, Ilan H.|editor2= Northridge, Mary E.|year=2007|pages=3–26|doi=10.1007/978-0-387-31334-4_1|isbn=978-0-387-28871-0}} "Not surprisingly, individuals in the pride stage are most criticized not only by heterosexual persons but also many LGBT individuals, who are uncomfortable forcing the majority to share the discomfort. Heterosexual individuals may express bewilderment at the term "gay pride", arguing that they do not talk about "straight pride"".</ref><ref name="donthaveem">Eliason, Michele J. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wkrcU5Z2FrcC&q=%22straight+pride%22+origin&pg=PA55 Who cares?: institutional barriers to health care for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons], p.55 (1996)</ref><ref name = "ChicagoTribune1">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/11/14/when-pride-turns-shameful/ |title=When pride turns shameful |first=Eric |last=Zorn |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=November 14, 2010}}</ref> adopted by various [[LGBT]] groups in the early 1970s or to the accommodations provided to gay pride initiatives.