New winds are blowing in Colorado - USA
A classical macho world gets a new look when the US champion ship in Gay rodeo is held in Denver.
On Monday, James Jenkins will as usual take on his business suit and go to the office of his advertising bureau in Denver. But, now it is the rodeo weekend and he has transformed himself to the Drag queen “Janet”. He is wearing a full drag and rahter tight dress together with lots of rings and necklaces. The Whig is blond and he has several layers of Make up powder.
James :”Janet” Jenkins is one of the almost 300 participants in the finale of the nation wide champion ship in rodeo for Gay, Lesbian and Transsexual persons. The Competition is held in Denver, Colorado and thousands of people have bought tickets to this event. Rodeo competitions are very popular in western parts of the United States. The most well known rodeo riders compete in the professional PRCA games in Las Vegas. But there are about 10 more organizations running rodeo games and one of them is the Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) which organize the Gay Rodeo Games.



With its wide legged, tobacco chewing cowboys that swings their lassos, master young and semi wild horses and angry bulls, the rodeo riders carry and aura of male and macho around them. But the difference between a “straight” and a “gay” rodeo is not that large. The affection shown between riders in the Gay rodeo is for sure more direct and there are wide use of the pink color in shirts and hat bands. But other than that, all the classical parts of a rodeo can be found, riding in of young horses, riding Bulls and “calf roping” which is about catching a calf with a lasso, these are the main elements of the rodeo sport.

But the Gay and Lesbian rodeos also compete in “steer decorating” which is to tie a pink rosette around the tale of  a bull calf. Or the “world drag race” in where a “man” and a  “girl” cooperate to catch a bull calf and place a ”drag queen” on top of the calf and finally the “goat dressing” where a two person team compete about putting a pair of boxer shorts on a goat at fastest possible time.  “Janet” Jenkins will compete in the drag race and goat clothing and is warming up by stretching.

The rodeo world has indeed changed since the days of Buffalo Bill when a Gay and Lesbian rodeo now can be organized in what used to be a very traditional and conservative state. In the twenties, Colorado was run by the Klu Klux Klan and in modern time, republican congress men like Tom Tancredo and Marilyn Musgrave stood out for their extreme right wing views in immigration an gay issues. But now strong democratic winds are blowing in Colorado and the state is since 2004 run by a democratic Governor.