If we were to play a word association game with “gay” and “Wyoming,” most people would respond with “Matthew Shepard.” Wondering about the Equality State’s (heh) own image, The Jackson-Hole Star Tribune poked and prodded its citizens, asking them what they thought of the Wyoming-set Brokeback Mountain and its cowboys. They came across this little firebrand, a Ms. Sandy Dixon.
A lifelong Wyomingite, Dixon said she has never encountered a gay cowboy, and doesn’t think it’s right for (author) Proulx and Hollywood to portray Wyoming as a state with gay cowboys.
She added, “There’s nothing better than plain old cowboys and the plain old history without embellishing it to suit everyone.”
Regarding the reaction of Wyoming people to the film, Dixon said it depends on the viewer: “Those that want to make a queer story out of it, they will, and those that know real cowboys will say it’s all hogwash.”
Her comments make less sense when you find out she’s a playwright no less. Next she’ll say she’s never encountered a queer actor. Nah, even that one she’s gotta believe.
