Abstract
Following the Stonewall Riots in New York City of 1969, the LGBTQ+ community stepped out of the shadows of society and began widespread protest for liberation from heteronormativity. In June 1970, and each summer since, the LGBTQ+ community “came out” into the streets of New York, Chicago, and New Orleans, to celebrate the Stonewall moment a year earlier. A far overlook history is the efforts in rural towns in the U.S. West. By the mid-1970s, the LGBTQ+ community fought for a more visible presence. A group of men in Reno, Nevada, wanted to celebrate their uniqueness within the “gay community” as gay rodeo cowboys. In this paper, “Gay Rodeo” is used in place of LGBTQ+ rodeo because the interviewees preferred to maintain their rodeo identity that they embrace. The International Gay Rodeo Association is trademarked. This is not to deny any Queer identity. This paper examines the paradox within the modern gay liberation movement in the American West. The Reno Gay Rodeo, first envisioned in 1975, and first held in 1976, challenged what greater society believed about gay men. Their new visibility in conservative towns disrupted stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community, athletes, and the sport of rodeo. The rural LGBTQ+ community fought for acceptance within sport and society through gay rodeo. This paper argues how these rodeos became the “Gay Pride” of rural western U.S. LGBTQ+ culture. This study is significant because Gay Rodeo is celebrating fifty years in Reno, Nevada, in October 2025, where it all began.
Presenters
Nicholas VillanuevaAssociate Professor, Ethnic Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
LGBTQ, Rodeo, Liberation, Inclusion, Gay Pride, Masculinity, Heteronormativity
