Gender Performativity in a western

When one takes a deep look into the Western genre, one can see how it is dominated by male protagonists. You can look at different lists created by users on platforms like Imdb or Letterboxd a and the most popular and acclaimed Western films feature a male main character. This led to the rise of glorious careers like John Wayne's, who shined in many Western roles and will be remembered forever. However, this left the whole female perspective in the shadows.

This is mainly caused by gender roles. Western films usually have a main character with a strong personality who exposes themselves to dangerous situations and is constantly fighting. In the past, women were relegated to roles inside the home, and even though cowgirls existed (I'll elaborate further in the blog), consumers of Westerns—society in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s—were attached to sexist values that led them to expect a man to face these situations.

We believe that Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity Theory is very interesting to apply to our piece, as it would allow us to explore how society has built the idea of male gender around cowboys, and we could subvert this. As Judith Butler explains, gender isn't something we are born with, but something society builds upon us. The activities that each gender is "meant" to perform aren't set in stone and are only chains that can be broken. Despite cowgirls actually existing, in pop culture, they didn't play the same role as cowboys, but our main character will face a situation in which she'll have to break free from what is expected of her.

CONTEXT

As I mentioned, cowgirls actually existed, and as Cowboy by Choice states, "In the late 1800’s, the role of the cowgirl emerged alongside the cowboy during the late 19th century in the American West. As the cattle industry grew, women on ranches took on the same tasks as men, such as herding cattle, breaking horses, and tending to livestock." This creates a great dilemma, as despite having the same role, their representation in media is not the same. This aligns with the idea proposed by Butler of gender being constructed by cultural norms, the repetition of behaviors that enhance them. The lack of female Western main characters relegated female characters from the role of the cowgirl to a secondary role that complements men, like just doing tasks at home or being a damsel in distress.

The vision in which women are relegated to tasks in the house is one from the cities during this time. For our main character, we will make her a city girl, so in her past, she fitted into the vision of women during that time. But in order to accomplish her mission, she can escape from these expectations, as gender roles aren't something one is born with but something that is imposed.

Gender performativity can be used within our piece to analyze both the cultural and social context during the Wild West and to analyze the audiences who consume Westerns. By analyzing the audience, we can find new ways to break stereotypes within the genre that, to some extent, harm culture, as they ignore facts from history and keep them hidden through the repetition of practices that relegate cowgirls to the shadows.

Cowgirls are cool guys btw.  

Cowgirl by choice - cowboy by choice. (2024, September 4). Cowboy by Choice. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://cowboybychoice.com/cowgirl-by-choice/#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201800's%2C%20the,horses%2C%20and%20tending%20to%20livestock.

Montana Women’s legal History timeline. (2018, October 16). Montana Women’s History. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://montanawomenshistory.org/research/legal/

Big Think. (2023, June 8). Berkeley professor explains gender theory | Judith Butler. YouTube. https://youtu.be/UD9IOllUR4k?si=XSJdjl57BGfUqFWG