A quick short poll about assumptions regarding hetero-orientated attractions

[R_1]

How do you feel about assumptions regarding hetero-orientated attractions?

[Vyanni Krace]

Heterosexuality is biologically necessary because if all men and women weren't attracted to the opposite sex our species would kinda be in trouble due to the lack of babies being made. Because of this I understand why people think that heterosexuality is the default and all other sexualities are considered a bit odd, because on a biological level it sort of is.

Sorry if I'm not making much sense, my point of view is a bit complicated and I'm finding it hard to put into words. Im not explaining this well at all am I?

By societies standards heterosexuality, coupled with heteroromantic and hetero-aesthetic is seen as the norm and default. Basically its default for everyone to be completely and utterly hetero.

My sister knows I'm asexual but she's never considered that maybe that also means I'm not heteroromantic/aesthetic. So she assumes I still feel 'hetero-orientated attractions' yes.

[ithaca]

Off-topic, sort of, but I'm much more a fan of "Oriented", and not "Orientated".

[sound_the_bugle]

On the second to last question I said other because I am still heteroromantic and demiheterosexual. So, yes, people assume that, but not super a lot.

They do sometimes say "Even you have to admit he's hot" and I'm like, no? Not really, no.

[Guest]

Most people assume hetereosexual because that is the majority.

[Arctic Fox]

Is the title a joke?

"A quick short poll about assumptions regarding hetero-orientated attractions"

No Rept poll is short :P

[Pyro Yoshi]

Unless my gaydar goes off, I'll assume that someone is heterosexual, since about 95% of the population is. I think that's a fairly normal view to have.

[Guest_49836]

It's astounding how many people think I'm homosexual because I'm not the epitome of a heterosexual, cis-gender manly man man ooga ooga!

(yes, that was kinda rude of me... ^^)

Honestly though, I hardly assume things because I really don't care... my brain seems to fire up the same way with any information given to me, be it someone's orientation or relationship status... kind of like a "I'm supposed to care about this, aren't I? We're having a human-to-human conversation and it's regarding partnership in some vague way and that has the potential of concerning me on a basic, biological level... quick, monkey instincts, DO SOMETHING ohwait I don't care... SHUT UP, subconscious nobody directly asked you!" and I go back to not giving a moldy tootsie-roll about the whole thing.

[RD_the]

Those are some very odd poll questions.

[TheOneCoveredInGlitter]

This one was difficult to me because I do experience hetero-oriented attractions, just not the same way most people do. I'm a heteroromantic asexual.

[Janus the Fox]

Eh... I've got little opinion on assumptions really... I kinda have my own "never assume a thing" policy, I struggle to assume anyone to anything, it's perhaps not in my nature to do so. One often say, "assume everyone's bi" but, meh... there's not quite an equal world yet...

[Comrade Eden]

I do think that hetero-leaning makes up the majority of sexual and romantic orientations, but I am not convinced that heterosexuality and heteroromanticism make up the percentages that people tend to say. That notwithstanding, percentages are virtually irrelevant to reality of meeting any given person. There is hardly any agreement about the causes of sexual/romantic/sensual/aesthetic/et cetera orientation. Any given person will different conditions of development from conception to where they are today, so it's not like you can directly extrapolate the likelihood of an individuals sexual orientation from a large sample population. Also, even if you could, why would you? It doesn't ultimately do anyone any good to make assumptions. If you are interested, ask. That way you can find out for your own personal reasons, but you don't cause some people unnecessary stress and send them into denial by making assumptions about them.

[Guest]

1) Heterosexuality is not the default. At least, it shouldn't be, and it isn't for me.

2) Yes, society does "promote" heterosexuality as the default orientation (although it shouldn't be).

3) They generally don't assume.

4) Other - those who do assume generally assume that I'm into males and females equally, which I can understand somehow, given that I don't care about sex.

[Arctic Fox]

1) Heterosexuality is not the default. At least, it shouldn't be, and it isn't for me.

2) Yes, society does "promote" heterosexuality as the default orientation (although it shouldn't be).

You mean it shouldn't be the most common sexuality, or that people shouldn't make assumptions about it?

Personally, I think making assumptions is a perfectly normal and useful thing to do. Although I can see why it is annoying for people who are in a minority or different (such as myself).

[Guest]

I'm fine with it being the most common sexuality, of course. Heterosexuals are useful for reproduction anyway :P

I'm just not fine with people assuming everyone is heterosexual... I'd rather they didn't assume anything about anyone. So long as they're open minded about all kinds of sexualities, assuming won't hurt much, but not everyone is.

[Waist of Thyme]

Statistically, heterosexuality is the most common sexual orientation. That doesn't mean that you should assume everyone you meet is straight, though. It annoys me when people make assumptions about other people. Why would you think you know something about someone if they haven't said anything about the topic? Why would you even think/care about their sexuality in the first place unless the topic is brought up? More people are right-handed than left-handed, but I've never heard anyone say "I assume everyone is right-handed until I see them writing with their left hand".

[5_♦♣]

I'm not sure why I put unsure for the last question. Since, in my experience, people can't comprehend the idea of not being in love with someone who one doesn't find aesthetically attractive.

[Jockey]

I think more people are not actually 100% heterosexual, that the true default is really more a primarily heterosexual with a very small homosexual component- that most people are bisexual with a much stronger leaning towards one sex than the other, but not a true 100% leaning.

[Quintus Crinis]

The assumption of heterosexuality as the norm (as unfortunately modern society does) is a relatively new phenomena - taking hold in about the 1200s.

All previous civilisations were very clear that it made much more sense to take bisexuality as the default. (Suetonius, for example, records a minor scandal that the emperor Claudius (14BC-54AD) had never had a boyfriend, but accepts as very common that Galba (3-68AD) was only interested in men).

Indeed, accepting that sexuality is a spectrum, the maths of probability and "normal curves" would suggest that bisexuality is the norm with a slight bias towards heterosexuality?

[Lady Girl]

This poll is being locked and moved to the read only Census archive for it's respective year. As part of ongoing Census organization, and in an attempt to keep the demographics of the polls current with the active user base at the time, the polls will last for one year from now on. However, members are allowed and even encouraged to re-start new polls similar to the archived ones if they like them.

Lady Girl, Moderator