Remarkable progress in recent years has suggested that estrogen action in vivo is complex and often involves activation of cytoplasmic signaling cascades in addition to genomic actions mediated directly through estrogen receptors alpha and beta. Rather than a linear response mediated solely through estrogen-responsive DNA elements, in vivo estrogen might simultaneously activate distinct signaling cascades that function as networks to coordinate tissue responses to estrogen. This complex signaling system provides for exquisite control and plasticity of response to estrogen at the tissue level, and undoubtedly contributes to the remarkable tissue-specific responses to estrogens. In part I of this series, we summarize cytoplasmic signaling modules involving estrogen or estrogen receptors, with particular focus on recently described membrane-associated signaling complexes.