Heterosexism (or heterocentrism or heterosexualism (Corsini, 2002)) is the assumption that everyone or a particular person is heterosexual. It can be distinguished from homophobia in that it doesn't necessarily imply hostility towards other sexual orientations, merely a failure to account for their existence.

In queer theory and gender studies, the term is closely related to heteronormativity.

Sources

• Corsini, Raymond J. The Dictionary of Psychology (1992), ISBN 1583913289