A gay cowboy refers to an individual belonging to the

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

within the gay community of

homosexual men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual men, bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, ...

who dress and behave like

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

s. This movement, which emerged mainly in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, has spread throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

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CGRA-Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo 23 opening

A gay cowboy is a man who has been involved with

cowboy culture Western lifestyle or cowboy culture is the lifestyle, or behaviorisms, of, and resulting from the influence of, the (often romanticized) attitudes, ethics and history of the American Western cowboy. In the present day these influences affect this s ...

and wants to be part of it, and could be someone from a rural area who lives there, as well as a migrant to urban areas due to the rural exodus, but who wants to maintain some habits and customs of country life. The main distinctive feature of these men is through their clothing, such as

blue jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

with large buckle belts,

plaid Plaid () may refer to: Fabric * Full plaid, a cloth made with a tartan pattern, wrapped around the waist, cast over the shoulder and fastened at the front * A synonym for tartan in North America * A plaid shirt, typically of flannel and worn du ...

shirts, riding boots and cowboy hats, among other elements of western fashion. Regarding behavior, it tends to preserve attitudes of masculinity within the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

. They claim their own

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

as gay males in an environment that can be sexist, with homophobic and prejudiced attitudes towards homosexuality, where effeminate men are socially less tolerated. Initially, Mexican immigrants in the United States learned from gay American cowboys to develop their own gay cowboy identity, later replicating in Mexico with their own cultural elements, such as ranchera music, traditional

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...

, etc.

Popular culture

The film ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by O ...

'' (2005) showed the lives of two American cowboys who had a homosexual relationship in the past and later met again, both married to women. Other films with themes related to cowboy culture and gay men in ranching activities are ''

Strange Way of Life ''Strange Way of Life'' ( es, Extraña forma de vida) is a 2023 Spanish Western drama short film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunslingers who reunite after 25 years. The film marks Almod ...

'' (2023), Cowboys (2020), '' Power of The Dog'' (2021) and ''

Dashing in December ''Dashing in December'' is an American romantic holiday drama film directed by Jake Helgren. The film stars Peter Porte, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Andie MacDowell, Caroline Harris, Carlos Sanz, and Katherine Bailess. Premise Wyatt Burwall (Porte ...

'' (2020).

Orville Peck Orville Peck is a South African country musician based in Canada. He wears a fringed mask and has never shown his face publicly. He released his debut album ''Pony'' in 2019, followed by the EP '' Show Pony'' the next year. His second studio a ...

, an openly gay

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

singer, wears a

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

-style mask to remain anonymous. The song ''

Ram Ranch "Ram Ranch" is a song by Canadian outsider musician Grant MacDonald. The song features a heavy metal musical backdrop with explicit homoerotic spoken-word lyrics about an orgy of gay cowboys taking place at the titular ranch. Released in 2012, ...

'' by Grant MacDonald has an explicit

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

lyrics with a heavy metal melody about a gay cowboy orgy.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Gay cowboys Cowboy culture Gay masculinity

Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

LGBT culture in the United States LGBT culture in Mexico

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Popular culture

See also

References

External links