Amatonormativity is the set of societal assumptions that everyone prospers with an exclusive romantic relationship.

Elizabeth Brake Elizabeth Brake is an American philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at Rice University. She is known for her works on ethics and political philosophy. Brake coined the term amatonormativity to describe the widespread, but false, belief that eve ...

coined the

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

to capture societal assumptions about Romance (love), romance. Brake wanted to describe the pressure she received by many to prioritize

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

in her own life when she did not want to. Amatonormativity extends beyond social pressures for marriage to include general pressures involving romance.

Etymology

The word ''amatonormativity'' comes from ''amatus'', which is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "loved", and ''

normativity Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...

'', referring to societal norms. Another word which is similarly related to the word ''amatonormativity'' is ''amative''.

Merriam-Webster dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

defines the word ''amative'' as: strongly moved by love and especially sexual love. Relating to or indicative of love. ''Amorous'' is a closely related word also derived from ''amatus''. Related terms include ''

allonormativity Allonormativity is the concept that all humans experience sexual attraction and romantic attraction. It is the force which upholds compulsory sexuality, the social systems and structures which privilege or incentivize sexual relationships over ...

'', which means a worldview that assumes all people experience sexual and romantic attraction, and ''compulsory sexuality'', which means social norms and practices that marginalizes non-sexuality.

Examples

describes the term as a pressure or desire for

monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...

, romance, and/or marriage. The desire to find relationships that are romantic, sexual, monogamous, and lifelong has many social consequences. People who are asexual,

aromantic A person's romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender with which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a Interpersonal relationship#Romance, romantic rela ...

, and/or nonmonogamous become social oddities. According to researcher Bella DePaulo it puts a stigma on

single people In legal definitions for interpersonal status, a single person refers to a person who is not in committed relationships, or is not part of a civil union. In common usage, the term 'single' is often used to refer to someone who is not involved in ...

as incomplete and pushes romantic partners to stay in unhealthy relationships because of a fear the partners may have of being single. According to Brake, one way in which this stigma is institutionally applied is the law and morality surrounding marriage. Loving friendships, queerplatonic, and other relationships are not given the same legal protections romantic partners are given through marriage. This legality also de-legitimizes the love and care found in other non-marital relationships. Brake wrote a book, ''

Minimizing Marriage '' Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law '' is a 2012 book by Elizabeth Brake in which the author provides an "in-depth examination of marriage, within the context of contemporary ethical and political theory." Reception The book w ...

'', in which she defines amatonormativity as "the widespread assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship."

References

{{Discrimination Feminist terminology Neologisms Gender-related prejudices Intimate relationships Romance Philosophy of love

Etymology

Examples

See also

References