After the US election results, we are actually thinking of traveling to US States that never looked very welcoming up until now.  Like new Blue Texas. Maybe we can finally discover what the real fascination is that gay men have for cowboys.  We know already that part of it is that cowboys can be notoriously cocky because it takes a certain cockiness to become a cowboy.

They have to believe that in some way they are different than most everybody else to take such a twisted and physically tortured path. Not that they are necessarily better (though let’s be frank that that’s really what we’re saying, even if we never actually say it) – mostly that they are just built and made differently than most, because a cowboy’s life is not an easy one. They believe with all their heart that cowboying is the best choice for them. 

Most importantly, the traditional cowboy represents the ultimate archetype of hyper-masculinity, self-reliance, and physical strength. By adopting or romanticizing this look, queer men can both celebrate masculine aesthetics and subvert them with irony, fashion, and pride.

Nobody exemplifies the mantra of ‘work hard, play hard’ as well as the cowboy. Back-breaking days of cattle wrangling and bone-crunching dangers of steers and bulls and horns just waiting to impale make for nights of release that might astound the most practiced prostitute. Cowboys know how to use their bodies, skillfully throwing their heft and muscle around to successfully handle animals and beasts five times their weight. Couple that with the need for pleasure and release to offset the hard work, and you have the combustible legend of the cowboy as the ultimate love-maker. Bottom line: cowboys know how to have fun, and largely in a very physical sense. 

Also, there are the clothes.  Western wear—ranging from chaps and large belt buckles to decorated hats and boots—lends itself well to theatricality, playfulness, and camp style. But it’s probably the cultural changes that we can relate to cultural touchstones like Brokeback Mountain, which Works & Process is premiering as a Ballet at the  Guggenheim in New York in the new year

Historically, not many cowboys identified as gay – though a number of them fucked and fooled around with other cowboys – they simply didn’t label it as gay. Perhaps they’re still way ahead of their time – existing and fornicating without a label or designation. And they love finding no word for love – not even love, because how could it ever be contained in a single word?

This train of thought has all come about because we have just heard about someone who calls himself The Cheeky Cowboy …… for reasons that should be obvious to you.  And he even sings too