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Historically, women have long participated in the rodeo. Annie Oakley created the image of the cowgirl in the late 19th century, and, in 1908, a 10-year-old girl was dubbed the first cowgirl after demonstrating her roping skills at Madison Square Garden. Women were celebrated competitors in bronc and bull riding events in the early decades of the 20th century until a female bronc rider died in a 1929 rodeo. Her death fueled the growing opposition to female competitors in rodeo; their participation was severely curtailed thereafter. ==19th and early 20th centuries== In the 19th century, women learned to rope and ride as the American frontier pushed West, but "cowboying" as a profession was primarily the job of men and paying jobs in the field were essentially non-existent for women. Women were hired as mounted pistol shooters and as trick and stunt horsewomen in Wild West shows of the late 19th century.〔Harris: 37〕 In 1885, Annie Oakley was hired by Buffalo Bill Cody as a sharpshooter in his Wild West show, but later helped created the iconic image of the cowgirl when she appeared in a western film shot by Thomas Alva Edison in 1894.〔Fussell: 70–71〕 In 1903, women began competing at the Cheyenne Frontier Days, though there was never a large number of female professional riders. Rodeo promoters often advertised female riders as sweethearts or queens of the rodeo.〔Bakken: 4〕 The term cowgirl was first used in the context of a wild west show by Oklahoman Lucille Mulhall in 1908 when, at age 10 years, she displayed her roping skills at Madison Square Garden. Prairie Rose Henderson, bronco buster Mabel Strickland, bucking horse champion Bertha Blankett, and other cowgirls achieved celebrity performing in rodeos of the early 20th century. Women competed at the first indoor rodeo at the Fort Worth, Texas, Coliseum in 1918.〔 By 1920, women were participating in rodeos as relay racers, trick riders, and rough stock riders.〔Groves: 7〕 In 1928, one third of all rodeos featured women's competitive events. However, the Cheyenne Frontier Days ended its women's rough stock riding events that year, and in 1929, bronc rider Bonnie McCarroll died during the Pendleton Round-Up when she was thrown from a horse and dragged around the arena, her foot snagged in a stirrup. Until McCarroll's death, cowgirls had been celebrated for their courage and tenacity in the rodeo arena, but the tragedy escalated the growing opposition to women competing in rough stock events. Rodeo promoters began severely curtailing women's competitive participation and encouraged them instead to serve as rodeo queens.〔Bakken: 4–5〕 When the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was formed in 1929 under the direction of Gene Autry,〔Fussell: 71〕 no women's events were included.〔Mellis: 123〕 Women were further marginalized as rodeo competitors with the Great Crash of 1929, and the long, liberal period in American history that had sought to redefine behavior and occupations for American women came to an end. While major rodeos found financial backing during the Great Depression and professional rodeo women found work, chiefly as exhibition riders, small rodeos were put out of business and cowgirls of less than professional abilities were unable to find work. Traditional gender roles were reasserted, and, by 1931, conservatively styled rodeo sponsor contests made their appearance and focused on femininity rather than athleticism. Rodeo women were re-cast as graceful promotional figureheads rather than athletes.〔Bakken: 6〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Women in rodeo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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