Rodeo: the OG extreme sport.Where performers cling to the back of mad, bucking bulls, break their necks racing horses round barrels, and leap through the air to wrestle with cattle. It’s not just the physical feats that make this American tradition so appealing, it’s the culture too: the glistening pageantry and bouncing parades, the leather boots, chaps, and big hats, and the coronation of a Queen.When photographer Anna Ottum set out to document America’s relationship with rodeo, she started with the biggest and most mainstream shows. But as she learned more about its past, she found herself drawn to the wealth of thriving subcultural rodeos—like the all-black Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo, now in its 41st year, and the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), which is in its 40th.These events, by their very existence, aim to communicate the rich, complex, and multicultural history of this rootin’ tootin’ phenomenon.In her photo project, Palm Springs Hot Rodeo, she focused on the latter, documenting the gay community’s bull-riding, line-dancing, and pool-partying bonanza beneath the desert sky out in rural California.We caught up with Anna to chat about stirrups, stereotypes, and queerness in the Old West.VICE: Hey Anna. Alongside rodeo, you’ve also photographed monster truck shows and speedway—where does your interest in these aspects of American culture come from?Ottum: I always had a roundabout connection to the Old West. Growing up in Oregon, you learn a lot about it. So that always drew me to rodeo and then Southern culture. Understandably, there are dark, complex feelings about the American South and I was interested in photographing these cultures —rodeo, monster truck shows—with a genuine desire to understand the participants and the cultures.What hooked you on rodeo, specifically?Rodeo encapsulates all these feelings of the American West. I saw it as a way to explore a lot of bigger questions about the country as a whole. When I started documenting it I discovered all these subcultures within rodeo, like the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo and the IGRA. And all around the world there are many traditional rodeos specific to each culture. It quickly became clear that this was a topic that would keep me busy.From what I’ve read, the first gay rodeo was held in Reno, Nevada on October 2, 1976. And eventually the International Gay Rodeo Association was founded in 1985. What did you discover about the events that led to these groups forming?There was a pretty established history of homosexuality in the Old West. It was actually a lot more tolerated in the late 1800s and early 1900s than it was in the 1950s and 1960s, and onwards. Life was harder, work was harder, and it wasn’t as much of a big deal who your sexual preference was. But then there was this big shift driven by Hollywood, and homosexuality was packaged up as flamboyant and showy. I think that really isolated a lot of people who identified as gay but were very rugged and masculine. I got the impression that gay rodeo events began out of this desperate need within the community to say: We are gay but we’re not necessarily this Hollywood identity of gay—we’re cowboys, ranch hands, and lumbermen.It was the opposite of the classic tale of someone being gay, living in a rural area, and feeling like they needed to escape to the big city. It was like: No, I want to stay in my rural area, and retain this deep pride about where I grew up and the work I do.Which gay rodeo did you attend for this project and what was it like?I went to Palm Springs Hot Rodeo and shot over the course of four or five days. They have all the classic rodeo events like bull riding, bareback bronc riding, and roping. Right out the gate, they had an opening pool party, so everyone was there in cowboy hats and swim trunks, riding huge inflatable bulls.Then I met Tessa (above), the Gay Rodeo Queen. Tessa’s family is many generations deep, going back to early settlers of California who were ranch hands and worked with livestock. So if people want to get into arguments about ‘true Americans,’ then she is an example of an amazing ‘true American’ who should be accepted exactly as she is.Who’s this (above)?This is Frank. I loved his leather daddy stirrup top and the tribal tattoo on his back, as he posed in front of the mountains.At a time when the aesthetics of cowboy culture seem to be trending massively in both progressive and mainstream culture, you’d think these gay rodeo events would be booming. But from what I understand, they are struggling?It’s true. The hope is that it just needs more promo, but it’s hard for the people who run it because they have full-time jobs and they don’t make money from this, it’s a passion for them. That’s part of why I wanted to document it, to amplify and share.So these events used to be more popular?The first event that the IGRA threw in the 80s was massively popular, but attendance has dropped since. They haven’t had enough funding and support. A lot of the older people who I interviewed said, ‘Oh, it’s because of these young city gays that don’t care about rodeo.’ But I said that really surprised me because a lot of my gay friends are excited about this series and they love stuff like this. And their response was: Yeah, but they’re not here.Why aren’t they there?Sadly, I think that, politically speaking, things have gotten so intense and so divided recently that there is now a fear around attending events like this. The rodeo organizers themselves have also received some difficult pushback in the areas where they throw these events. There will be locals telling other locals that if you’re a part of the gay rodeo, then there’s gonna be a problem. It’s sad, because you’d think things like this would get better with time and there would be more acceptance, but it seems to be going in the opposite direction.Any final thoughts you’d like to share?In basic terms, I think there’s a huge difference between the idea of the American West and the reality of the American West. The idea of the frontier and its history has been so rewritten and so whitewashed. But when you discover these rodeo subcultures, which all feel so diverse yet so very American, it makes you see the rich history hidden behind the stereotypes.Thanks, Anna.The post Gay Rodeo Macho Men Do Things Their Own Way appeared first on VICE.