Heteronormativity is a term that is used to describe situations wherein variations from heterosexual orientation are marginalized, ignored or persecuted by social practices, beliefs or policies. These include the idea that human beings fall into two distinct and complementary categories: male and female; that sexual and marital relations are normal only when between people of different sexes; and that each sex has certain natural roles in life. Thus physical sex, gender identity, and gender roles should in any given person align to either all-male or all-female norms, and heterosexuality is considered to be the only normal sexual orientation.
