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there& #39;s been a lot of discussion on the tl but i wanna clarify, to me comphet describes something similar to heteronormativity, everyone is assumed to be straight. by not being a man, you are expected to like men. (1/6)
so for anyone who isn& #39;t straight, comphet is that expectation, the way we are told that heterosexuality is "natural", that it is inherent in our identity to be straight. we experience comphet as a result of not being straight. (2/6)
lesbians in particular deal with comphet uniquely, because heteronormative society has assumed that lesbianism implies cisgender womanhood and womanhood is tied to heteronormativity- ie, a woman should be subservient to men, exist for men. (3/6)
so being a lesbian is an inherent deviation from that, and many lesbians struggle with comphet as a false enforced attraction. comphet for lesbians looks like years of denying you were a lesbian because "i must like men somehow" (4/6)
or constantly struggling with "am i attracted to men" when you& #39;ve never questioned your attraction to women. so to me, while heteronormativity impacts us all, comphet is a very specific experience for lesbians that is not comparable to a straight or bi person& #39;s experience (5/6)
also- that tie to heteronormative womanhood is something many lesbians feel incredibly disconnected from, and so many lesbians have unique relationships with gender for that reason among others. (6/6)
