It’s one of those classic things – the minute you’re interested in something, you start seeing it everywhere.
Channel 4 in the UK aired a program about little kids participating in rodeos called, “Unreported World: America’s Cowboy Kids“. Training the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls… And keeping the “Western” way of life in the family. It reminds me a bit of children’s beauty pageants – except a lot more dangerous. I wonder who this is for, the parents or the kids? The potential prize money can’t hurt either. Another interesting economic aspect is the commercialization of non-human animals – breeding bigger, stronger bulls is big business and has the potential to change the sport in the coming years.
Takeaway #rodeomasculinities message: “Don’t cry in the arena.”
BBC Radio 4’s program, “The Forgotten Black Cowboys,” explores issues of white-washing Western heritage and legacy and highlights the contributions and participation of ethnic minorities in rodeo. It appears to be a case where fiction has informed mainstream imaginings of this culture rather than fact. Hollywood once again has a lot to account for in terms of misrepresenting multiculturalism.