Reviewed by:

• Outriders: Rodeo at the Fringes of the American West by Rebecca Scofield
• Richard W. Slatta

Rebecca Scofield, assistant professor of American history at the University of Idaho, has written an engaging, insightful, wonderfully researched social and cultural study of forgotten or ignored participants in United States rodeo. This short study deftly combines a solid base of foundational historiography, archival and institutional documents, and gender and cultural theory, all reflecting well on the Idaho-born author's training at Willamette and Harvard University.

Four topical chapters each focus on a different group of rodeo "outriders." Scofield examines female bronc riders, convict cowboys, all-Black western performers, and gay rodeoers to illustrate how "people who were cast out of popular western mythology and often marginalized from mainstream American life found belonging and meaning at the rodeo, demanding their right to grapple with the symbol of the cowboy in their own lives" (3).

Several chapters include mini–case studies that add detail and continuity. Norwegian-born Anna Mathilda Winger, who emigrated to the US at age fourteen, became a rodeo star under the name Tillie Baldwin. For African American rodeo, the focus is on Boley, Oklahoma, and Oakland, California. The chapter on prison rodeo clearly shows that "the Texas Prison Rodeo staged the state's exploitative and violent labor system as the path to social redemption" (64). She well contextualizes gay rodeo with additional information on other gay subcultures, such as leathermen and bears.

At several points, Scofield challenges (successfully in my view) existing cultural assumptions. [End Page 247] Her analysis shows how fringe groups, excluded from the mainstream myths of a white heterosexual male West, creatively embraced rodeo to push their way into history and society. "For many people, the love of stock, the thrill of competition, and the sacredness of camaraderie were foundational to their sense of self" (5). Scofield also highlights conflicts arising within each social group as they labored to claim their piece of western life and mythology.

This is a superb book that illuminates major issues of Great Plains and western history far beyond the rodeo arena. For example, the tension between serious, traditional rodeo events and camp events, such as steer decorating, goat dressing, and wild drag racing, mirrors larger issues in the gay community. Female riders faced the dilemma of remaining feminine while engaging in traditionally masculine contests. Readers interested in issues of gender, ethnicity, popular culture, and western mythology will all learn something of value in this excellent book, the author's first. [End Page 248]

审核人：

• 边缘人：丽贝卡·斯科菲尔德（Rebecca Scofield）在美国西部边缘的圈地
• 理查德·斯拉塔（Richard W. Slatta）

爱达荷大学美国历史学助理教授丽贝卡·斯科菲尔德（Rebecca Scofield）撰写了一份引人入胜，有见地，经过深入研究的社会和文化研究，对美国牛仔竞技圈中被遗忘或被忽视的参与者进行了研究。这项简短的研究巧妙地结合了基础史学，档案和机构文件以及性别和文化理论的坚实基础，所有这些都很好地反映了爱达荷州出生的作家在威拉米特和哈佛大学的培训。

四个主题章节均着眼于不同的牛仔“外行人”群体。斯科菲尔德（Scofield）研究了女性野马骑手，定罪的牛仔，全黑的西方表演者和同性恋牛仔，以说明“那些被西方流行神话淘汰，经常被主流美国边缘化的人如何在牛仔竞技中找到归属和意义，要求他们获得牛仔竞技表演的权利。努力应对自己生活中牛仔的象征”（3）。

有几章包括一些小型案例研究，这些案例增加了细节和连续性。挪威出生的安娜·玛蒂尔达·温格（Anna Mathilda Winger）十四岁时移民到美国，以蒂莉·鲍德温（Tillie Baldwin）的名字成为了牛仔竞技明星。对于非裔美国人的牛仔竞技表演，重点是Boley，俄克拉何马州和加利福尼亚的奥克兰。关于监狱牛仔竞技表演的章节清楚地表明：“德克萨斯监狱牛仔竞技表演了该州的剥削性暴力劳动体系，是通往社会救赎之路”（64）。她很好地将同性恋牛仔竞技场与其他同性恋亚文化（例如皮革工和熊）的其他信息相结合。

在某些时候，斯科菲尔德对现有的文化假设提出了挑战（在我看来，这是成功的）。[结束第247页]她的分析表明，被白人异性恋男性西方主流神话所排斥的边缘群体是如何创造性地拥抱牛仔竞技圈的，从而将其带入历史和社会。“对许多人而言，对股票的热爱，竞争的兴奋和友爱的神圣性是他们自我意识的基础”（5）。斯科菲尔德还着重强调了每个社会群体在努力争取自己的西方生活和神话时所产生的冲突。

这是一本极好的书，阐明了大平原和西方历史的重大问题，远远超出了牛仔竞技场。例如，严重的传统牛仔竞技活动和露营活动（例如，操舵装饰，山羊服装和狂野的飙车）之间的紧张关系反​​映了同性恋社区中的更大问题。女骑手在参加传统的男性比赛时面临女性保留的困境。对性别，种族，流行文化和西方神话感兴趣的读者都将从这本出色的书中学到一些有价值的东西，这是作者的第一本。[结束第248页]