heteropessimist
heteropessimist noun: one who espouses or exemplifies heteropessimism.
Noun
heteropessimist (plural heteropessimists)
- One 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
- 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
- Synonyms:
- heterofatalist
Adjective
heteropessimist (comparative more heteropessimist, superlative most heteropessimist)
- Related 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
- 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
Synonyms of heteropessimist
Forms of heteropessimist
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | heteropessimists |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more heteropessimist |
| superlative | most heteropessimist |
Origin of heteropessimist
From hetero- + pessimist.
Questions about heteropessimist
- What does heteropessimist mean?
- Heteropessimist means one who espouses or exemplifies heteropessimism.
- What part of speech is heteropessimist?
- Heteropessimist can be a noun or an adjective.
- What is the plural of heteropessimist?
- The plural of heteropessimist is heteropessimists.
Words near heteropessimist in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: heteropessimist (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.
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Cite this entry: “heteropessimist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/heteropessimist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.