Until the late 1990s, few had pursued a critical examination of institutionalized heterosexuality, one that asks, "What interests are served by the way we have organized and given meaning to heterosexuality?" This volume of essays contains important and pivotal works in the emerging field of critical heterosexual studies. From across disciplines and international locations, these works interrogate the meanings and practices associated with straightness--the historical, social, political, cultural, and economic dominance of institutionalized heterosexuality. By examining the power, the promise, and the paradox associated with 'thinking' straight and straightness, these essays provide insight into the history, materiality, meaning making systems, legitimizing practices, concealed contradictions, and the interests of power served by the continued operation of institutionalized heterosexuality.