Theorising Heterosexuality

de Diane Richardson

Little attention has traditionally been given to theorising heterosexuality. Heterosexuality tends to be taken for granted, as something that is 'natural' and 'normal'. Theorising Heterosexuality questions this assumption and demonstrates how much of our understanding of ourselves and the social worlds we inhabit is based upon unquestioned assumptions about the nature of heterosexuality. In what ways does heterosexuality encode and structure everyday life? How does heterosexuality shape our sense of identity? What is the nature of heterosexual desire? What is the relationship between heterosexuality and feminism? In addition to addressing these questions, the contributors to Theorising Heterosexuality provide a critical examination of recent debates about heterosexuality, in particular within postmodern, feminist and queer theory.