“Don't Call Him A Cowboy”: Masculinity, Cowboy Drag, and A Costume Change

AbstractInformed by feminism and theories of masculinity and space, this ethnography explores how gay men negotiate hegemonic masculinity in a country-western gay bar, focusing specifically on how the bar's clientele use dress as a marker of hegemonic masculinity and how bar patrons change their dress (and consequently their masculinity) as they migrate to other bars in the city. By examining social practices and cultural descriptions, the author is able to discern how gay men engaged in a negotiation process that included both acquiescence and opposition to heteromasculine ideologies which simultaneously reinforce and challenge hegemonic masculinity but always remain connected to symbolic power, strength, and self worth as gay men.