My ultimate image of a cowboy consists of three things: a western ranch, a herd of cattle and a hat. Sure, there are more things than that, but these three images are integral in my imagination's ability to percieve cowboys. How can you be a cowboy if you aren't on a ranch? How can you succeed on a ranch without a massive herd of cattle? And, most importantly, how can you succceed as a cowboy without the perfect cowboy hat to put on your head? These things are necessary.
However, in her essay, "About Men," Elrich destroys all of our traditional ideas of cowboys by portraying the cowboy's soft, tender side, the side that needs a woman's help to get along, the side that no one expected was there. Who could have imagined that cowboys do more than lead cattle from one place to the next? Who could have imagined that cowboys really care for their animals and are really soft-hearted on the inside?
I never knew.
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