Yes…We all probably picture an outlaw, rough man on a horse with funny and impressive boots, a lasso and a perfectly known to everyone, Stetson hat. Indeed, it is forever said that a cowboy needs to be fearless, enduring and resilient. A real cowboy is credited for taking up challenges and risking his life in duels, sparing no pains. Then, he is also expected to breed cattle and to master a bull. Have you ever seen a cowboy of another skin color than white? No. All the portrayed actors were actually white men embodying the American values such as bravery, courage, determination and hard-work while Blacks were totally left apart, being considered as unskilled slaves. It was totally impossible for them to appear in a movie since a part of America denied the fundamental values of Humanity. What’s more, the woman position is also worthy to be discussed. The feminine gender was rather underestimated and women characters were unlikely to be dominant in movies. Women were simply objects of desire, characteristic of romance. They were supposed to be beautiful, running a house properly, and not interfering too much.  At the time, men saw them as helpless and insignificant. Now, I’m sure you remember from some westerns that sceneries are rather idyllic. Everything is represented as too perfect in these movies. It is hard to think that it actually could occur at this period.

SO now let me surprise you! Everything you’d just hear is perfectly imperfect. These are commonly the images we display but have you ever wondered why? Don’t you think there is a real reason behind those? In fact, all of this is the result of Hollywood influence. Indeed, has Hollywood managed to washed away the reality of the Wild-West. All of these clichés are based on fake facts. Let us show to you how it really was with all the realistic details.

Hollywood conveyed undoubtedly the representation of the Wild West they want you to believe. But don’t be blind. The vision of a white free and independent hero, braving and taming nature alone, on the margins of society will always be a misinterpretation! That’s why we are going to tell you “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on the Cowboy”.

First, sorry to disappoint you, but the reality of the West was rough, harsh, crude, dirty and sometimes violent. Everything didn’t always look clean, perfect with wholesome and healthy people.

Even more striking for the ignorant we are, many cowboys were actually Blacks! Yes, you heard it. In so far as Hollywood broadcast an image of a far-fetched reality, spectators truly thought that Blacks could not be cowboys, whereas it was actually the case for one quarter of all of them. Indeed, their living and working conditions were much better than the conditions of the slaves in the South and they were appeal to the hope of freedom and wages, where the demand for skilled labor was high. Besides, even if Black cowboys did some of the roughest work, such as taming the horses or being the first ones to cross a swollen river during cattle drives, they had good relationships with their white counterparts thanks to the “cowboy code”.

Let’s talk about women now. You can’t deny that women in Western movies are always confronted with so many stereotypes: elegant, healthy, well-dressed, kind-hearted servants…How could this be possible? You really think they were never hard-working, drinking or gambling as men did? The truth is that women in the West were actually just like men. They were entrepreneurial, courageous, bold, adventurous or intelligent as men were. Make no mistake about it, women were doing all the same things men were doing, however they had to do it in spades because of the lack of the same degree of physical prowess. To prove it, there are plenty of examples of women soldiers, scouts, gamblers, farmers or sharpshooters as Calamity Jane, Poker Alice, Annie Oakley, and I could go on, who managed to make themselves a place in the West, to be independent from men, to be respected for their skills and to have their own business.