Commitment, Communication, and Contending with Heteronormativity: An Invitation to Greater Reflexivity in Interpersonal Research

摘要

This critical essay examines commitment as a construct within interpersonal communication research and pedagogy. I argue that heteronormative ideologies about relationships infiltrate communication scholarship and teaching, often reinscribing heterocentric assumptions and hierarchies regarding what kinds of relationships are most worthwhile, commendable, and legitimate. This essay is intended to be provocative and to contribute to the current conversation by inviting interpersonal communication researchers and teachers to be more reflexive in the ways they operationalize commitment and relationships in general.