Editing Cowboy (section)

==In popular culture==
{{See also|Western (genre)}}
[[File:Buffalo bill wild west show c1899.jpg|thumb|Buffalo Bill's wild west and congress of rough riders of the world – circus poster showing cowboys rounding up cattle, c. 1899]]
As the frontier ended, the cowboy life came to be highly romanticized. Exhibitions such as those of [[Buffalo Bill Cody]]'s Wild West Show helped to popularize the image of the cowboy as an idealized representative of the tradition of [[chivalry]].<ref name="Agnew">Agnew, Jeremy. December 2, 2014. ''The Creation of the Cowboy Hero: Fiction, Film and Fact'', pp. 74. McFarland. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-7839-2}}</ref>

In today's society, there is little understanding of the daily realities of actual agricultural life.<ref name="Savage">Savage, Williams. ''The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & Culture''. University of Oklahoma Press (March 15, 1985). pp. 3–4, 24, 117–118. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-1920-5}}</ref> Cowboys are more often associated with (mostly fictitious) Indian-fighting than with their actual life of [[ranch]] work and cattle-tending. The cowboy is also portrayed as a masculine ideal via images ranging from the [[Marlboro Man]] to the [[Village People]]. Actors such as [[John Wayne]] are thought of as exemplifying a cowboy ideal, even though [[Western (genre)|western movies]] seldom bear much resemblance to real cowboy life. Arguably, the modern [[rodeo]] competitor is much closer to being an actual cowboy, as many were actually raised on ranches and around livestock, and the rest have needed to learn livestock-handling skills on the job.

In the United States, the Canadian West and [[Australia]], [[guest ranch]]es offer people the opportunity to ride horses and get a taste of the western life—albeit in far greater comfort. Some ranches also offer vacationers the opportunity to actually perform cowboy tasks by participating in cattle drives or accompanying [[wagon train]]s. This type of [[Tourism|vacation]] was popularized by the 1991 movie ''[[City Slickers]]'', starring [[Billy Crystal]].

===Symbolism===
In 2005, the [[United States Senate]] declared the fourth Saturday of July as "National Day of the American Cowboy" via a Senate resolution and has subsequently renewed this resolution each year, with the [[United States House of Representatives]] periodically issuing statements of support.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legislative Search Results |url=https://www.congress.gov/search?q=%7B%22congress%22%3A%22116%22%2C%22source%22%3A%22legislation%22%2C%22search%22%3A%22National%20Day%20of%20the%20American%20Cowboy%22%7D&searchResultViewType=expanded |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=July 28, 2019}}</ref>
The long history of the West in popular culture tends to define those clothed in Western clothing as cowboys or cowgirls whether they have ever been on a horse or not. This is especially true when applied to entertainers and those in the public arena who wear [[Western wear]] as part of their persona. Many other people, particularly in the West, including lawyers, bankers, and other [[White-collar worker|white collar]] professionals wear elements of Western clothing, particularly [[cowboy boot]]s or hats, as a matter of form even though they have other jobs. Conversely, some people raised on ranches do not necessarily define themselves cowboys or cowgirls unless they feel their primary job is to work with livestock or if they compete in rodeos.

Actual cowboys have derisive expressions for individuals who adopt cowboy mannerisms as a fashion pose without any actual understanding of the culture. For example, a "drugstore cowboy" means someone who wears the clothing but does not actually sit upon anything but the stool of the [[Pharmacy|drugstore]] [[soda fountain]]—or, in modern times, a [[bar stool]]. Similarly, the phrase "all hat and no cattle" is used to describe someone (usually male) who boasts about himself, far in excess of any actual accomplishments.<ref>Owen, James P. ''Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Once Stood For''. Lyons Press; 1st edition (May 13, 2008). pp. 48. {{ISBN|978-1-59921-271-5}}</ref> The word "dude" (or the now-archaic term "greenhorn") indicates an individual unfamiliar with cowboy culture, especially one who is trying to pretend otherwise.

Outside of the United States, the cowboy has become an [[archetypal]] image of Americans abroad.<ref>Watts, Linda. ''Encyclopedia of American Folklore (Facts on File Library of American Literature)''.  Facts on File; 1st Edition (December 2006). p. 93. {{ISBN|978-0-8160-5699-6}}</ref> In the late 1950s, a [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] youth subculture calling themselves the [[Bills (subculture)|Bills]] based their style and outlook on [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]'s depiction of cowboys in movies.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Philipp Blom |title=The Vertigo Years: Europe, 1900–1914 |date=2008 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-7867-2670-7 |page=372 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3G9gMNCpowC&pg=PA372|author1-link=Philipp Blom }}</ref> Something similar occurred with the term "[[Apache]]", which in early 20th century [[Paris]]ian society was a slang term for an outlaw.<ref>{{citation |title= Reinventing Order in the Congo: How People Respond to State Failure in Kinshasa |author= Theodore Trefon |edition= illustrated |publisher= Zed Books |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-1-84277-491-5 |page= 138 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5VAAHi93y0sC }}</ref>

===Word===
The word "cowboy" is sometimes used pejoratively. Originally this derived from the behavior of some cowboys in the boomtowns of Kansas, at the end of the trail for long cattle drives, where cowboys developed a reputation for violence and wild behavior due to the inevitable impact of large numbers of cowboys, mostly young single men, receiving their pay in large lump sums upon arriving in communities with many drinking and gambling establishments.<ref>Malone, J. p. 58.</ref>

"Cowboy" as an adjective for "reckless" developed in the 1920s.<ref name="Etymology-cow"/> "Cowboy" is sometimes used today in a derogatory sense to describe someone who is reckless or ignores potential risks, irresponsible or who heedlessly handles a sensitive or dangerous task.<ref name="cowboy" /> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine referred to President [[George W. Bush]]'s foreign policy as "[[Cowboy diplomacy]]",<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Ratnesar |first1=Romesh |last2=Allen |first2=Mike |title=The End of Cowboy Diplomacy: Why George W. Bush's Grand Strategy for Remaking the World Had to Change |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1211578,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716114821/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1211578%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 16, 2006 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=July 27, 2019 |date=July 9, 2006}}</ref> and Bush has been described in the press, particularly in Europe, as a "cowboy", not realizing that this was not a compliment.

In English-speaking regions outside North America, such as the [[British Isles]] and [[Australasia]], "cowboy" can refer to a [[tradesman]] whose work is of shoddy and questionable value, e.g., "a cowboy [[plumber]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel5.com/shows/cowboy-builders |title=Cowboy Builders |publisher=Channel 5 |access-date=2013-02-28}}</ref> The term also lent itself to the British 1980s TV sitcom, ''[[Cowboys (TV series)|Cowboys]]''. Similar usage is seen in the United States to describe someone in the skilled trades who operates without proper training or licenses. In the eastern United States, "cowboy" as a noun is sometimes used to describe a [[Reckless driving|fast or careless driver]] on the highway.<ref name="cowboy" /><ref>{{cite web |title=European press review: Mr. Bush Goes to Europe |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1387617.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=July 27, 2019 |date=June 14, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=D.C |first1=Alexander Schwabe |title=Bush Hosts the Pope: The Cowboy and the Shepherd |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,547723,00.html |website=Spiegel Online |access-date=July 27, 2019 |date=April 16, 2008}}</ref>