Cowgirls - Softcover

Poor Dale Evans. America's best-known cowgirl sweetheart didn't have much of a chance to spit, cuss, swagger, snap her neck bronco-busting, or even muss her hair. The gritty frontier cowgirls and athletic rodeo riders and performers lauded in this colorful melange of photos, posters, quotes, and snappy histories did all that and a great deal more. Clearly, the life agreed with many of them. "This is a deuced fast place," one reports approvingly. "Most independent women I've ever seen." Happily, that independence was rewarded by several Western states with the right to vote, hold property, divorce, and--just as important--the chance to ride astride.

In spite of the growing interest in the role of women in the American and Canadian West, little has been written about those who best fit the stereotypical image?the cowgirls. Savage (Aurora: The Mysterious Northern Lights, Sierra Club Bks., 1995) provides a solid survey of the cowgirl phenomenon from both a historical and a social perspective. Cowgirls can be traced back to Marie del Carmen Calvillo, who inherited her father's Texas rancho in 1814. Many women made a name for themselves in the famous traveling Wild West shows, and their image was amplified and expanded by popular media ranging from comic books to television. Although today many cowgirls are part of husband-and-wife ranching operations, the cowgirl role continues. Savage pays particular attention to dichotomous media images, which range from the strong, effective manager such as the Barbara Stanwyck character in the series Big Valley to vapid cheesecake portrayals. Overall, this work is engaging and informative. Recommended for public and undergraduate libraries.?Daniel D. Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.