Influential critiques of heterosexuality, like "compulsory heterosexuality," often come from lesbian academics. Their work can frame straight relationships as inherently oppressive, an external perspective that may not reflect the internal experience of straight women.
The book "The Last Straight Woman" grew from observing a 2010s trend where being a woman attracted to men was equated with being conventional, pushing some women towards queer identification to seem more interesting or progressive.
Coined by Phoebe Maltz-Bovey, this archetype captures the often-ignored reality of middle-aged women who are not conventionally seen as sex objects but still possess strong, even pent-up, sexual desires for men.
Cultural discourse often frames female sexuality as the act of being found attractive by men, rather than the active experience of desiring men. This mischaracterizes sexuality not as an internal drive but as a passive state of being an object of desire for others.
Many cultural depictions of female heterosexuality, especially from feminist perspectives, erase sexual desire. They describe attraction to men primarily in terms of non-sexual qualities like status, security, and kindness, ignoring the core biological drive.
The cultural myth that women are not fundamentally attracted to men can confuse some women. Believing their own lack of attraction is normal, they may only realize they are lesbians later in life upon experiencing genuine sexual desire for another woman for the first time.
The influential theory of universal female sexual fluidity relies on a definition that encompasses non-sexual emotional closeness. By asking "why should we privilege the sexual over the emotional?", the theory redefines close friendship as a form of sexual fluidity, creating a misleading claim.
Men have fewer socially acceptable ways to enhance their attractiveness compared to women, making female judgment based on looks seem "unfair." This has fostered a cultural myth that women don't care about men's appearances, reframing a natural response as a shallow choice.