Amatonormativity () is the set of societal assumptions that everyone prospers with an exclusive romantic relationship. Elizabeth Brake coined the

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

to capture societal assumptions about romance. Brake wanted to describe the pressure she received by many to prioritize

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

in her own life when she did not want to. Amatonormativity extends beyond

social pressure Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...

s for marriage to include general pressures involving romance.

Etymology

The word ''amatonormativity'' comes from ''amatus'', which is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for "loved", and ''

normativity Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A Norm (philosophy), norm in this sense means a standard for evaluatin ...

'', referring to societal norms. Related terms include '' allonormativity'', which means a worldview that assumes all people experience sexual and romantic attraction, and ''compulsory sexuality'', which means social norms and practices that marginalize non-sexuality. The term was modeled after the term

heteronormativity Heteronormativity is the definition of heterosexuality as the normative human sexuality. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between peo ...

, the belief that heterosexuality is the default for sexual orientation. Normative bias against ethical non-monogamy in particular is known as mononormativity.

Examples

Elizabeth Brake describes the term as a pressure or desire for

monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a social relation, relationship of Dyad (sociology), two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate Significant other, partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or #Serial monogamy ...

, romance, and/or marriage. The desire to find relationships that are romantic, sexual, monogamous, and lifelong has many social consequences. People who are asexual,

aromantic Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is d ...

, and/or nonmonogamous become social oddities. According to researcher Bella DePaulo, it puts a stigma on single people as incomplete and pushes romantic partners to stay in unhealthy relationships because of a fear the partners may have of being single. According to Brake, one way in which amatonormativity is institutionally applied is the law and morality surrounding marriage. Loving friendships, queerplatonic, and other relationships are not given the same legal protections romantic partners are given through marriage. In her 2012 book '' Minimizing Marriage'', Brake defines amatonormativity as "the widespread assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anti-LGBTQ sentiment Aromanticism Feminist terminology Gender-related prejudices Intimate relationships LGBTQ erasure Neologisms Romance

Etymology

Examples

See also

References

External links