'heterosexual-themed' is a compound of 'heterosexual' and 'themed'. 'heterosexual' itself originates from Greek 'hetero-' (meaning 'other') combined with Latin 'sexus' (meaning 'sex'), and 'themed' comes from Greek 'thema' via Latin/French 'theme', where 'thema' meant 'that which is placed or set' (later 'subject, topic').

'heterosexual' was coined in the late 19th century from Greek 'hetero-' + Latin-based 'sexual' (from Latin 'sexus'); 'theme' entered English from French/Latin based on Greek 'thema', and the past-participial adjective form 'themed' developed in modern English to mean 'given a particular subject or motif'. The compound 'heterosexual-themed' is formed by combining these two modern English elements.

Initially, 'heterosexual' specified attraction to the 'other' sex and 'theme' referred broadly to a subject; over time the combination came to mean 'having a subject or motif that emphasizes heterosexual relationships or perspectives'.