“Gay Cowboy” Series

Heath Ledger’s groundbreaking performance as a gay cowboy in the film “Brokeback Mountain” introduced many Americans to the notion that homosexuals also have their home on the range. This December, the Autry National Center in Los Angeles begins a series of programs and exhibits highlighting the roles played by members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the American West. The series, entitled “Out West,” will take place over a period of twelve months, and will explore such topics as LGBT Native Americans, and the contributions of LGBTs to rodeo culture, Western politics and the arts.

The museum kicked off the series this past weekend with a paneled discussion on the topic, “Whatever Happened to Ennis del Mar?” The museum noted on its website that when the original Western film star Gene Autry issued his ten-point “Cowboy Code” in the 1940s, “he could not have anticipated the story of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, but the messages of tolerance, fairness, and integrity the Code promotes speak to the acceptance for which the Brokeback Mountain characters longed.”

More at: The Examiner!