What is Compulsory Heterosexuality? Ft. Alayna Joy
Over the pandemic, I came out… again. So we thought we’d dive into one of the biggest culprits for my confusion: Compulsory Heterosexuality. Plus, we had a chance to chat to one of my favourite YouTubers, Alayna Joy.
Women’s sexualities are often discussed in terms of, and defined by, our relationships with men. Compulsory heterosexuality is the theory that heterosexuality is assumed and enforced upon women by a patriarchal and heteronormative society. Comp het is reinforced through fairy tales, in movies, in magazine quizzes about ‘how to satisfy your man’, in the dreams your parents have for you, and every time a stranger at a barbecue asks ‘do you have a boyfriend?’
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Alayna Joy is a cat-loving LGBT+ YouTube content creator from Canada. She’s been making videos in various bedrooms, wearing various cat shirts, for her channel (originally “MissFenderr”) since 2012. She brings her frank and funny perspectives to a wide range of topics, including mental health, sexuality, and veganism. When she’s not creating videos, Alayna is speaking about Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and sexuality in schools and clinics across North America, as she is a trained Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher.
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