heteropessimist

plural heteropessimists

1. neologismOne who espouses or exemplifies heteropessimism.

   Heteropessimists are keen to distance themselves from the “awfulness” of heterosexuality and frame their own continued attachments as a kind of “prison” (Seresin).

   2021, Marni Appleton, “Feeling Straight: Heterosexual Fatigue in 'Cat Person'”, in Alluvium: 21st-Century Writing 21st-Century Approaches, volume 9, number 3

   2 more examples

   For Berlant, “the fantasy life of normativity” (2011, 167) is precisely such an object, and correspondingly, despite all evidence to the contrary, the heteropessimist continues to optimistically tether her desires to a world and to relationships ill-equipped to meet them.

   2022, Billy Holzberg, Aura Lehtonen, “The affective life of heterosexuality: heteropessimism and postfeminism in Fleabag”, in Feminist Media Studies, volume 22, number 8, page 1911

   As with the feminist heteropessimists, the heteropessimistic nature of The Black Pill seems to function as an “anesthetic feeling,” succinctly captured in the idea that "the game is rigged from the start."

   2024, Samantha Pinson Wrisley, “Heteropessimism and the Pleasure of Saying "No"”, in Capacious: Journal for Emerging Affect Inquiry, volume 3, number 2, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025, page 39

   Synonyms: heterofatalist

comparative more heteropessimist · superlative most heteropessimist

1. neologismRelated to, characteristic of, or exhibiting heteropessimism.

   Rather, we are identifying a particular heteropessimist sensibility that critiques the gendered constraints of the institution of heterosexuality while simultaneously embracing them—albeit with flat and cynical detachment.

   2022, Billy Holzberg, Aura Lehtonen, “The affective life of heterosexuality: heteropessimism and postfeminism in Fleabag”, in Feminist Media Studies, volume 22, number 8, page 1911

   2 more examples

   In heteropessimist fashion, she resents her husband’s neglect and find his habits “irritating,” yet she remains attached to him, dredging up romanticized possibilities of belonging to manage her homesickness (Cusk Kudos 53).

   2024, Stephanie Tsz Yan Ng, "On Compromise: Neoliberalism, Postfeminism, and the Disappointed Promise of Personhood", thesis submitted to University College London, page 55

   In this vein, her fate may convey Tolstoy's heteropessimist critique of toxic masculinity, male sadism, and straightness, as reflected in the "happiness and pride" that Vronsky takes in his "conquest" of her person, which made him feel like a "tsar."

   2025, Javier Sethness Castro, Tolstoy's Search for the Kingdom of God Gender and Queer Anarchism, unnumbered page