A bittersweet journey into the lives of women who have worked the rodeo circuit from the 1930s to today. . Rodeo has always been considered a supremely masculine sport, a rough and tumble display of macho strength and skill. But author Joan Burbick shows us the other side of rodeo: the world of rodeo queens-part cowgirl and part pageant princess-who wave and smile and keep the dream of the ideal Western woman alive. So who are the women behind the candy-red chaps, Farrah Fawcett curls, and rhinestone tiaras? Burbick traveled the backroads of the rural West for years, trying to find out. She interviewed dozens of queens, including rodeo royalty from the 1930s and 40s, women who grew up breaking wild horses, branding calves, and witnessing the sad decline of the ranching life. Stories from white and Native American rodeo queens in the 1950s and 1960s, the golden age of rodeo, reveal the conflicts over gender and race that shaped the rodeo and the Cold War politics of small Western towns. Finally, rodeo queens from the 1970s to the present describe a more fiercely commercial rodeo, driven largely by TV-ratings and sponsorships, glitter and hairspray. Illustrated throughout with wonderful photographs, this rich tapestry of women's voices echoes and challenges our clichs of the rural West. Their combined stories of fulfilled dreams and lost hopes reveal the tenacity of the myth of the American West, a place of muscled men, golden-haired women, relentless beauty and tragic limits.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...combines a native's understanding of the territory with an outsider's skepticism." -- Hartford Courant, November 10, 2002
"A wonderful souvenir of a rural and urban spectator sport...an invaluable collection of memories from [Western] women." -- Bookpage, October 2002
"In the testosterone-tossed world of rodeo, Burbick serves up a delectable slice of Americana, illuminating the world of rodeo queens." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 24, 2002
"[Burbick's] intriguing book shows how changes in the role of rodeo queen have reflected changes in...the American West." -- Dallas Morning News, January 3, 2003.
"[Burbick] turns a stereotype into individuals and portrays them sympathetically, avoiding feminist cant. The result is fresh." -- Seattle Times, September 10, 2002
"[What's] interesting...is the historical framework-political, economic, social and cultural-that Burbick builds around the women's stories." -- The Oregonian, November 10, 2002
"a sympathetic treatment...Both feminists and rodeo enthusiasts will have to reckon with this illuminating book." -- Choice, May 2003.
"delightful... From contestants to queens, these remarkable women and their life stories are exciting and heartwarming. A true treasure." -- True West, August/September 2003.
"what it's like to be a woman in farm country,... an ultimately tough situation that strains typical notions of feminism." -- Salt Lake Tribune, August 10, 2003.
"A wonderful souvenir of a rural and urban spectator sport...an invaluable collection of memories from [Western] women." -- Bookpage, October 2002
"In the testosterone-tossed world of rodeo, Burbick serves up a delectable slice of Americana, illuminating the world of rodeo queens." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 24, 2002
"[Burbick's] intriguing book shows how changes in the role of rodeo queen have reflected changes in...the American West." -- Dallas Morning News, January 3, 2003.
"[Burbick] turns a stereotype into individuals and portrays them sympathetically, avoiding feminist cant. The result is fresh." -- Seattle Times, September 10, 2002
"[What's] interesting...is the historical framework-political, economic, social and cultural-that Burbick builds around the women's stories." -- The Oregonian, November 10, 2002
"a sympathetic treatment...Both feminists and rodeo enthusiasts will have to reckon with this illuminating book." -- Choice, May 2003.
"delightful... From contestants to queens, these remarkable women and their life stories are exciting and heartwarming. A true treasure." -- True West, August/September 2003.
"what it's like to be a woman in farm country,... an ultimately tough situation that strains typical notions of feminism." -- Salt Lake Tribune, August 10, 2003.
About the Author
Joan Burbick teaches American studie s at Washington State University. Born in Chicago, she has lived in the rural Palouse region of nort hern Idaho and eastern Washington for more than tw enty years, writing, raising a family, and working with horses.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I was disappointed, but it wasn't the author's fault.,
By
This review is from: Rodeo Queens: On The Circuit With America's Cowgirls (Paperback)
The mistake I made here was judging the book by the cover. I picked it up because I thought the topic was interesting, and I thought it would detail the lives and personalities of the kind of sassy, salty, almost defiant cowgirls like the ones depicted on the cover. I knew next to nothing about the rodeo and never heard of a rodeo queen before, so I thought she was a sort of cowgirl, not a beauty queen. I expected to be taken on a wild ride through the rodeo circuit. But instead I found myself reading a pseudo-feminist treatise on the shallowness of rodeo and the empty mythos of a West that never existed. I found myself disappointed in the subject matter, much as I imagine the author became disappointed when she delved into it. The only thing I wish the author could've done differently was to view the rodeo more as a community of characters and personalities, rather than as an abstract construct.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Rodeo Queens and the American Dream (Hardcover)
As a rodeo competitor, rodeo queen, and cowgirl I was at time offended at this book and the terribly untrue and negative it said about rodeo... and the people who embrace the western lifestyle. I only finished the book to hear the rest of what the author had to say. I was excited to start reading it, and disgusted when I was done. If you want to know the real view and role of women in the west you won't find it in this book..keep looking.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Women's stories tell of their successes and failures,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rodeo Queens and the American Dream (Hardcover)
Joan Burbick's Rodeo Queens And The American Dream examines the women of the rodeo: those who traveled the rural West for years and who became 'rodeo royalty' from the 1930s onward. Women's stories tell of their successes and failures riding the rodeo circuit in this involving guide.
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The locals called it the "smell of money." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rodeo board, rodeo court, rodeo royalty, rodeo queen outfit, rodeo princess, rodeo queens, rodeo promoters, rodeo world, rodeo committee, flank strap, powwow circuit, rodeo season, rodeo fans, rodeo parade, rodeo arena, rodeo road, local rodeo, rodeo association, rodeo cowboy, cowboy way, rodeo events Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nez Perce, United States, Miss Rodeo America, Americon Dreom, New York, Pendleton Round-Up, Wild West, Las Vegas, Lewiston Roundup, Sara Jane, Lee Ann, Americon Vreom, American West, Grand Ronde, Native American, Snake River, Nocieo Queens, Buffalo Bill Cody, Chamber of Commerce, Roaeo Queens, Country Western, Happy Canyon, National Finals Rodeo, Oregon Trail, Sitting Bull New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The locals called it the "smell of money." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rodeo board, rodeo court, rodeo royalty, rodeo queen outfit, rodeo princess, rodeo queens, rodeo promoters, rodeo world, rodeo committee, flank strap, powwow circuit, rodeo season, rodeo fans, rodeo parade, rodeo arena, rodeo road, local rodeo, rodeo association, rodeo cowboy, cowboy way, rodeo events Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nez Perce, United States, Miss Rodeo America, Americon Dreom, New York, Pendleton Round-Up, Wild West, Las Vegas, Lewiston Roundup, Sara Jane, Lee Ann, Americon Vreom, American West, Grand Ronde, Native American, Snake River, Nocieo Queens, Buffalo Bill Cody, Chamber of Commerce, Roaeo Queens, Country Western, Happy Canyon, National Finals Rodeo, Oregon Trail, Sitting Bull New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 89
books:
See all 89 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- House Made of Dawn (Perennial Classics) by N. Scott Momaday on page 79, and Back Matter
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac on page 99, and Back Matter
- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Popular Culture (The Great Contemporary Issues) by David Manning White in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Two Years by Richard Henry Dana on page 43, and Back Matter
See all 89 books this book cites
- Riding Pretty: Rodeo Royalty in the American West (Women in the West) by Renee M. Laegreid on 4 pages
- Chasing the Rodeo: On Wild Rides and Big Dreams, Broken Hearts and Broken Bones, and One Man's Search for the West by W. K. Stratton on page 55, page 251, and Back Matter
- Wrangling Women: Humor And Gender In The American West by Kristin M. Mcandrews in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Cowgirl Smarts: How to Rope a Kick-Ass Life by Ellen Reid Smith in Back Matter
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