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Cowboys in the American frontier were a lot more gay than you think, historian reveals
If you thought that the American frontier cowboy lifestyle was all robberies and gun-slinging, you’d only be partially right as it was also super, super gay.
TikTok might be full to the brim with questionable trends and prison cooking videos, but it is also home to experts like Abbey Sharp who are constantly offering noteworthy bites of information. You just have to know where to look.
Gay cowboys were not uncommon on the frontier
Though some in the modern world would lead you to believe that LGBTQ+ people arose only recently, the community has a long and often ignored history. From the Ancient Greeks to Vikings, South Asia’s Hijra communities to a gay man basically winning World War 2, it’s time for a Queer history lesson.
On the chalkboard this week are American cowboys, who have been popularised through films like The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Rio Bravo. Brokeback Mountain is maybe the most famous gay cowboy story, though many at the time of the release claimed it was rewriting history.
While the subject is more complicated than a simple yes or no, with our understanding and language on sexuality having evolved considerably, male-on-male intimate interactions are well recorded across history, particularly in rural locations.
One particular mining facility in rural Southern California hosted stag parties where men would dance with one another and even wear a patch on their crotch to symbolize their role as the ‘woman’ in the relationship.
Perhaps the most famous of the gay cowboys was William Drummond Stewart, a Scottish adventurer and British military officer who emigrated to the US in 1832. Though he did marry a woman and even give her a child, William was known to have been engaged in a homosexual relationship with French Canadian-Cree hunter Antoine Clement for 10 years!
Cowboy Harry Allen was transgender
Harry Allen was a transgender man who grew up on his family’s farm in 1882 where he was said to have exhibited “boyish” traits from early childhood. His story was recently told by historian Amanda Timpson (@yesterqueers), who has since racked up close to 70k likes.
After giving birth at the age of 16, the exact nature of the pregnancy lost to history, Allen disappeared in Seattle. He resurfaced as Harry Livingston a few years later, swapping the comforts of city life for an area known as the wickedest place on the frontier.
“He was working as a bartender and taking part in a sort of saloon league fight club,” Amanda explained. “Allen was an extremely skilled fighter, both in the ring and in the street. He was known to fight the police every time he was arrested, which was a lot.”
Over the next 16 years, Allen worked as a cowboy, longshoreman, bartender, hotel clerk, and barber. He was also a gifted singer and poet who could play several instruments.
Allen racked up countless crimes and was soon associated with one of the most renowned criminals of the era, Edward ‘Black Jack’ Morse. When Morse was shot to death in 1900, a photo of Allen was found in his pocket.
Despite being a well-known lothario and a hardened criminal, Allen was known to adopt strays from the streets including brothel workers.
“In truth, his entire life was a struggle to survive. Like so many Queer kids today, Allen found himself on the street with nothing but his wit, and his indomitable sense of self to see him through,” Amanda added.
