Rainbow Cattle Co. reveals a history of gay liberation through rodeo, which from the mid-1970s provided a safe space where LGBTQ athletes could focus on their sport and evolved into a highly successful philanthropic organization by the end of the twentieth century. This intersectional study of LGBTQ athletes, heteronormativity, Western history, and sport builds on scholarship from ethnic studies, critical sports studies, sociology, and history.
Nicholas Villanueva, Jr., is an associate professor of ethnic studies and the director of Critical Sport Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is the editor of The Athlete as National Symbol: Critical Essays on Sports in the International Arena and Critical Sports Studies: A Document Reader and the author of The Lynching of Mexicans in the Texas Borderlands, winner of two southwestern book awards.