Talk:Cowboy

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Article improvement

Wanting to bring this article up to GA quality, it's not really even ready for a peer review, need some eyes to look it over in general. Much info, better than it used to be, a lot of myth and legend stuff tossed in favor of citable material, but I'm at the point where I can see improvements at the paragraph level but am open to input on the overall article. Any lurkers want to comment, feel free. It's ultimately going to need more sources, which will be pretty time-consuming, but want to focus first on organizing what's here, sourcing as time permits. Montanabw^(talk) 05:39, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Historic Indian cowboy photo

I recently added File:Kiowa or Comanche cowboy, 1869.jpg, an historic photo of a Kiowa or Comanche cowboy, replacing File:Indian students branding cattle.png -- which is pretty blurry, especially at thumbnail size. Another editor reverted, commenting "Photo not of a working cowboy, it's just a portrait of someone in cowboy clothes."

I don't think it was fashionable to dress up in cowboy clothes in 1869, and anyway the photo it replaces isn't working cowboys either, but students learning how to brand. As the second photo is much clearer, and also shows an Indian cowboy, it better serves the same encyclopedic function, imo. --Pete Tillman (talk) 18:20, 14 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that was me. You missed the point. The individual is simply posed in quasi-cowboy regalia that doesn't even look like a working outfit--it looks like the photographer gave the guy some random clean clothes and told him to pose. There is nothing in the photo that adds any action. The photo of the students, while not ideal quality, shows real ranching work being done by Indian youths. Now, the Smithsonian, Library of Congress or National Archives may have better Indian Cowboy photos than this one -- and that are public domain. I do not object to a truly better photo, but while the one you wanted to add may have been a clear photo, this did not make it a "better" photo. Montanabw^(talk) 04:02, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

I got a helpful note from an SMU archivist. The photo was miscaptioned -- only some of the young man's outfit was Southern Plains Indian, and they don't seem to have any real info re the man himself. So it does seem likely he was dressed up in "props" by the photographer. You are right, this isn't the place for it. Thanks, Pete Tillman (talk) 20:02, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know. The hat, if nothing else, was just scary! =:-O Montanabw^(talk) 21:51, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

social world

this section is a little thin, and appears to give the idea that not only that a significant amount of cowboys were gay, but that was a main reason people became cowboys. 98.206.155.53 (talk) 04:06, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

All about footnotes and sources. Someone have a macho hetero study to add that describes the mainstream culture, that would be fine. Montanabw^(talk) 19:38, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

End protection

High time this page become unprotected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.10.123.77 (talk) 13:43, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Unfortunately, every time we do, the kiddie edits and inappropriate edits crank up again. It's a target. Montanabw^(talk) 18:29, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

Etymology

I recall once seeing one or two US colonial-era posters for a runaway slave, a Cow Boy, in a book on some aspect of African-American experience. I believe that it predates any etymology that I've seen, but I've been unable to locate it again. I invite you to publish any successful investigation in this area. Larry Koenigsberg (talk) 19:31, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Find a source, we'd be interested in seeing it. The only east coast mention we've found to date is the Revolutionary War reference noted in the article. Montanabw^(talk) 23:19, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Several readers are contesting the numeric proportion of non-white cowboys, especially since the one citation #24 is an unsubstantiated article with no primary sources referenced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.35.2.32 (talk) 07:45, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

Find a better source, then. This should not be difficult, we'd be glad to see what you can find. Montanabw^(talk) 19:14, 9 January 2012 (UTC)