Gender, Whiteness, and Power in Rodeo

The lure of cowgirls and cowboys has hooked the American imagination with the lure of freedom and adventure since the turn of the twentieth century. The cowboy and cowgirl played in the imagination and made rodeo into a symbolic representation of the Western United States. As a sport that is emblematic of all things “Western,” rodeo is a phenomenon that has since transcended into popular culture. Rodeo’s attraction has even spanned oceans and lives in the imaginations of many around the world. From the modest start of this fantastic sport in open fields to celebrate the end of a long cattle drive or to settle a friendly “who’s the best” bet between neighboring ranches, rodeo truly has grown into an edge-of-the-seat, money-drawing, and crowd-cheering favorite pastime. However, rodeo has diverse history that largely remains unaccounted for, unexamined, and silenced. In Gender, Whiteness and Power in Rodeo Tracey Owens Patton and Sally M. Schedlock visually explore how race, gender, and other issues of identity complicate the mythic historical narrative of the West. The authors examine the experiences of ethnic minorities, specifically Latinos, American Indians, and African Americans, and women who have continued to be marginalized in rodeo. Throughout the book, Patton and Schedlock questioned the binary divisions in rodeo that exists between women and men, and between ethnic minorities and Whites—divisions that have become naturalized in rodeo and in the mind of the general public. Using iconic visual images, along with the voices of the marginalized, Patton and Schedlock enter into the sometimes acrimonious debate of cowgirls and ethnic minorities in rodeo.

This book, which is about much more than 'gender, whiteness, and power in rodeo,' encompasses the history of women and ethnic minorities in the settling and historical retelling of the West. The authors attempt to historically categorize the various periods of women's participation in the sport of rodeo in the West. From neo-Victorian and pin-up to sex kitten, women have always played a significant role in rodeo performance. Conditions did not 'improve' for women in the twentieth century in the sport; the marginalization of women reflected larger currents within American gender norms and the growing professionalization of rodeo. The authors complicate the narrative by discussing ethnic women and men within rodeo, reflecting the multiculturalism within the sport and the West.... The story that the authors relate is important enough that students of western history, gender, and sport will all find the book valuable. The authors include a significant number of photos and illustrations to demonstrate how women were culturally represented in rodeo. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates and above., Reminiscent of studies by Mary Lou LeCompte, Renee Laegreid, and Joan Burbick, this book takes its place among an emerging critical scholarship on the continent’s signature western sport., Gender, Whiteness and Power in Rodeo peels back the layers of rodeo and offers a refreshing look at this popular pastime that has mesmerized generations of fans. While unraveling the way in which rodeo is imagined in American popular culture, Tracy Owens Patton and Sally Schedlock boldly challenge us to rethink what social predispositions are simultaneously and perhaps implicitly being celebrated and why. This book is more than a simple exploration of a popular sport; it is hands down the most comprehensive and socially compelling treatment of rodeo and culture available today, and a very enjoyable read!, Patton and Schedlock analyze the contributions of women and ethnic minorities in U.S. rodeo culture with a conviction of purpose akin to that demonstrated by those they spotlight in this significant balancing of historical fact and pervasive mythology. Drawing on years of research into the culture of rodeos and ranches, Patton and Schedlock forthrightly move women and ethnic minorities from 'the back of the story' to the center of the arena, at once enriching the story and spotlighting the passion and courage of those previously made invisible by white cowboy mythology.

Tracey Owens Patton is director of African American and diaspora studies as well as professor of communication in the Department of Communication and Journalism at The University of Wyoming. Sally M. Schedlock received her BA and MA degrees in communication from the University of Wyoming. She has rodeoed since she was a small child and continues to barrel race.