pessimism heteropessimism Any of a set of negative attitudes, often performative in nature, that individuals have toward heterosexuality, usually surrounding regret, embarassment, or hopelessness in relationship to the heterosexual experience. These attitudes typically center around oftentimes ridiculous clarifications around heterosexual performativity, and are usually commented on by LGBTQIA+ persons noting "Are straight people OK?". On 17 October 2019, the subreddit "Are the Straights OK?" (r/AreTheStraightsOK) was founded, primarily revolving around problematic policings of heterosexuality by heterosexuals.