ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to identify the ways in which the descriptions of sexual violence that originated with 1970s feminist literature and have proliferated in the literature for decades thereafter continue to dominate our present discourse of sexual violence in ways that are consequently heterosexist. Feminism is generally understood as a social movement directed at the full enfranchisement of women in all sectors of life including political, economic, and social. Feminist theory has been grounded in the field of women's studies and its offshoots gender studies, feminist studies, and sexuality studies. However, increased scrutiny regarding the inclusiveness of federal policy for LGBTQ people has resulted in some shifts in the development of sexual misconduct policies. Thus, the normalization of sexual violence as a heterosexual experience has had the effect of limiting the research on sexual violence itself as well as dictating the framework of federal policy on campus sexual violence.
