There is no movement for us to contemplate our own whiteness, masculinity, or heterosexuality. There is a not a community or a perspective organized around the idea that straight white male is meaningful in the way that being a woman, or being non-white, or being non-straight is meaningful.

This site is here because there is plenty to contemplate about straight white male. Consciousness comes from considering self and identity that makes a person strong, whole, and knowledgeable about themselves. It's something that anyone should want to do for themselves, but it's also something we're faced with by what's going on around us.

Notice that as women experience this through feminism, men can only watch, knowing that nothing like feminism is happening for us, and we seem to get paranoid. Some of us decide all feminists are "man-haters" and can even resent female musicians who sound a little too independent (or too angry, or maybe it's just that they seem more interested in singing for other women than to us). Recent affirmative action controversy is rehashing old tensions over race. Lesbian/gay activism has us sensitive about our "straightness."

Without a way to begin consciously thinking about straight white male, all we can really do is react to the movements and perspectives that defined themselves across from us. That's pretty lame! Being "white" does not mean we cannot know diversity in our lives or that we cannot be diverse ourselves. It is just as important for us to understand how we are influenced by masculinity as it is for a woman to consider her femininity. It is just as important for us to be conscious about the depths and subtleties of each of our particular sexualities as it is for those who claim lesbian and gay sexualities. I throw out some ideas in this direction in the next parts of this site, but they're not answers, they're ideas and observations. Look for forms online soon so you can leave your own.