Caroline gets BUSTed
The Febuary/March issue of BUST magazine (“for women with something to get off their chest”) includes a great article by Terry Selucky. Titled “Home on the Range” (and teased on the cover as “Cowgirls gone wild”), it argues that cowgirls were among the first and best feminists. As evidence it cites, among others, the life of Caroline Lockhart.
Selucky and I had a far-ranging interview (set up in part by Margot Kahn). I agreed with her basic thesis, that women of the Old West (and New) had an independence, free spirit, and contentment that make them excellent models for young girls today. But Selucky had a problem that I wasn’t able to help her with: most contemporary independent female ranch owners and horsewomen don’t think of themselves as cowgirls.
In the article, Selucky argues that “the term ‘cowgirl’ has been hijacked, so that we can’t even recognize a real cowgirl when we see one.” I think it’s a little more complicated than that, because even in Lockhart’s day the term ‘cowgirl’ did not fit in with the proto-feminist agenda.
Cowgirls are generally women who love the West, the landscape, the lifestyle, the horses and cattle and men who work them -- and who are generally seen as part of a family unit: a daughter, wife, mother. Lockhart was too independent and ornery for such a family-centric role. In metaphorical terms, she wanted to ride off into the sunset alone, just like a cowboy does. And I’m not sure that option was (or maybe even still is) open to cowgirls.
That’s why Lockhart self-identified not as a cowgirl but as the "cowboy girl." And that’s why I selected that phrase as the title for the book.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Selucky and I had a far-ranging interview (set up in part by Margot Kahn). I agreed with her basic thesis, that women of the Old West (and New) had an independence, free spirit, and contentment that make them excellent models for young girls today. But Selucky had a problem that I wasn’t able to help her with: most contemporary independent female ranch owners and horsewomen don’t think of themselves as cowgirls.
In the article, Selucky argues that “the term ‘cowgirl’ has been hijacked, so that we can’t even recognize a real cowgirl when we see one.” I think it’s a little more complicated than that, because even in Lockhart’s day the term ‘cowgirl’ did not fit in with the proto-feminist agenda.
Cowgirls are generally women who love the West, the landscape, the lifestyle, the horses and cattle and men who work them -- and who are generally seen as part of a family unit: a daughter, wife, mother. Lockhart was too independent and ornery for such a family-centric role. In metaphorical terms, she wanted to ride off into the sunset alone, just like a cowboy does. And I’m not sure that option was (or maybe even still is) open to cowgirls.
That’s why Lockhart self-identified not as a cowgirl but as the "cowboy girl." And that’s why I selected that phrase as the title for the book.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, Cowboy Girl
