Heteronormativity

To represent heteronormativity being active in my social location I utilized an image that came into my social space through an advertisement in the newspaper. This ad is for a Valentine's Day contest that Windsor Jewelers is having to "share your love story with us and our readers," for a prize of a "stunning diamond hear pendant." It was a fairly large ad that probably took up about half the page that it was located on.

I knew that if I looked I would easily be able to find an ad like this one seeing it is almost valentine's day. I felt that this advertisement was a good instance of heternormativity taking place where one might not even think about it. Before learning this term in class I had no knowledge of it, although as soon as I learned it I could see it happening around me everywhere - and especially in mainstream media and advertising. This ad encourages people to share their love story, and uses an image of a smiling, happy, heterosexual couple to capture one's attention. While nowhere in this ad does it state that the couple must be heterosexual, and it only states "significant other," it is implied in many ways. The image obviously points towards an expectation of heterosexuality. Also the prize for winning this contest is a "stunning diamond hear pendent," which seems to be the sort of thing that a man might give to his wife/girlfriend/etc, not so much that a man might give to his husband/boyfriend/etc. This idea of a push for heteronormativity in subtle (and not so subtle ways), reflects Martin and Kazyak's definition of it, which is "the multiple, often mundane ways through which heterosexuality overwhelmingly structures...'everyday existence.'" (316) One might not think much about this advertisement at first glance, it is simply a call for a Valentine's Day themed contest. But if one thinks a little deeper, one can see that the way this contest is presented to us is an example of a mundane way heteronormativity is active in our lives. The very fact that heterosexuality is the norm is why this ad seems unremarkable at first glance, and also why it stands for a lot more if one examines it closer. I can't help but wonder how the individuals running this contest would react if a couple outside the "normal" scope of heterosexuality would enter this contest.