heterosocialadj.
/ˌhɛt(ə)rə(ʊ)ˈsəʊʃl/, U.S. /ˌhɛdəroʊˈsoʊʃ(ə)l/ΚΠ
1913 T. Burrow in Psychoanalytic Rev. 1 123 Social consciousness owes its stimulus to the discomforting contrast between the autosocial and the heterosocial demands resulting from the restrictions set upon the ego by the exactions of the group or social censor.
2. Originally Psychology and Sociology. Designating social interaction between men and women; of, relating to, or characterized by such social interaction. Contrasted with homosocial.
ΚΠ
1927 J. C. Flügel in Brit. Jrnl. Med. Psychol. 7 147 We may perhaps be allowed to coin..the word ‘heterosocial’ to designate ‘social’ relationships between members of the opposite sex.
1949 School Rev. 57 305/1 An exceedingly clear illustration of adolescents working at the task of heterosocial development.
1989 Weekly Mail (Johannesburg) 20 Jan. 18 Compound living deprived them of their privacy.., appropriate living space, and heterosocial and heterosexual relationships.
2011 J. A. Erickson Dance with Me i. 30 Women's increased economic independence..gave rise to a heterosocial world of leisure centered on the movie theater and the dance floor.
Derivatives
ˌheteroˈsocially adv. in a heterosocial manner; with regard to social interaction between men and women.
ΚΠ
1981 J. Peterson et al. in Behavior Therapy 12 195 (title) Sense of timing: a skill deficit in heterosocially anxious women.
2008 C. S. McGuffey & B. L. Rich in J. Z. Spade & C. G. Valentine Kaleidoscope of Gender (ed. 2) ii. iv. 170 Boys and girls were interacting heterosocially in what was formerly defined as a ‘girls-only’ activity.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1913