This word is used to describe a person’s sexual orientation. Specifically, it refers to the desire and attraction felt towards someone from the opposite sex. For example, a heterosexual man is attracted to women, while a heterosexual woman is attracted to men.
Heterosexuality has been the predominant sexual orientation in numerous societies for many centuries. For that reason, this type of sexual orientation was considered the only possible one. Currently, many heterosexual people actively defend gender diversity and the civil rights of other collectives, and they actively support their revindications. These heterosexual people are known within the LGBTIQ+ community as straight allies.
The genderqueer community and its theories have coined terms—such as heteronormativity or heteropatriarchy—to refer to social constructs that magnify this type of sexual orientation and discriminate the rest.