heteropessimism

heteropessimism noun: disillusionment with heterosexuality, typically expressed in an ironic, performative manner and grounded in an essentialist or deterministic view of gender relations.

Noun

heteropessimism (uncountable)

(neologism) Disillusionment with heterosexuality, typically expressed in an ironic, performative manner and grounded in an essentialist or deterministic view of gender relations.
- What I now see is that Nelson’s caveat is typical of heteropessimism, a mode of feeling with a long history, and which is particularly palpable in the present. Heteropessimism consists of performative disaffiliations with heterosexuality, usually expressed in the form of regret, embarrassment, or...2019 October 9, Asa Seresin, “On Heteropessimism”, in The New Inquiry, New York, N.Y.: The New Inquiry, Inc.
- Furthermore, this often leads to instances where monogamy itself is looked down upon as being too conservative, a sign of pathological jealousy, and so—clear signs that polyamory is often just another manifestation of heteropessimism.2020, Bonni Rambatan, Jacob Johanssen, “Heteropessimism and Digital Anesthesia”, in Event Horizon: Sexuality, Politics, Online Culture, and the Limits of Capitalism, Alresford, Hampshire: Zero Books...
Synonyms:

heterofatalism

Examples of heteropessimism in a sentence

What I now see is that Nelson’s caveat is typical of heteropessimism, a mode of feeling with a long history, and which is particularly palpable in the present.2019 October 9, Asa Seresin, “On Heteropessimism”, in The New Inquiry, New York, N.Y.: The New Inquiry, Inc.:
Through a queer lens, heteroresignation or heteropessimism appears to be a rite of passage for straight women.2020, Jane Ward, “Deep Heterosexuality: […]”, in The Tragedy of Heterosexuality, New York, N.Y.: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 162:
I just don't find resigned heteropessimism soothing anymore.2023, Gina Rushton, The Parenthood Dilemma: Procreation in the Age of Uncertainty, page 113:

Synonyms of heteropessimism

heterofatalism

Origin of heteropessimism

From hetero- + pessimism, coined by sexuality scholar Asa Seresin, see quotations.

Questions about heteropessimism

What does heteropessimism mean?: Heteropessimism means disillusionment with heterosexuality, typically expressed in an ironic, performative manner and grounded in an essentialist or deterministic view of gender relations.
How do you use heteropessimism in a sentence?: What I now see is that Nelson’s caveat is typical of heteropessimism, a mode of feeling with a long history, and which is particularly palpable in the present.
What part of speech is heteropessimism?: Heteropessimism is a noun.

Words near heteropessimism in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: heteropessimism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “heteropessimism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/heteropessimism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.