John Wayne and the Queer Frontier: Deconstructions of the Classic Cowboy Narrative during the Vietnam War

• Published in: Americana (Hollywood, Calif.) Vol. 5; no. 1
• Main Authors: Christopher Le Coney, Trodd, Zoe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hollywood Americana: The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture 01.04.2006
• Subjects: American literature; Cowboys; Gays & lesbians; Lee, Ang (1954- ); Masculinity; Motion pictures; Rich, Adrienne (1929-2012); Schlesinger, John; Sexuality; Williams, Tennessee (Thomas Lanier Williams) (1911-1983); New York; Vietnam; United States > US; Red River
• ISSN: 1553-8931

The growing numbers of participants at regional and national gay rodeo finals, and the existence of the International Gay Rodeo Association (founded in 1981 and now with member associations across most states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces) might suggest otherwise. Much ink has been spilled by critics debating whether Joe and Rizzo's relationship in Midnight Cowboy is homosexual, for it resists a conclusive label (though even Wayne could not ignore its explicit interrogation of cowboy sexuality: answering a Playboy interviewer's question about "perverted" films, Wayne responded, "Wouldn't you say that...Midnight Cowboy, a story about two fags, qualifies? [...]another toppling strategy employed by Schlesinger is to focus on the largely performative foundations of the macho cowboy myth.\n Yet the rape scene, during which Ramona yells "you faggots," is farcical, confirming - like Midnight Cowboy - the vulnerability of America's cowboy dreams and perhaps also the failure of its attempt at imperialist rape.