‘IGRA rodeos are the most welcoming you’ll ever see – it’s apparent from the moment you walk through the gate,’ said American documentary maker Matt Livadary.
‘There are gay people, straight people, drag queens, rodeo clowns, families – it’s like being at a carnival or a state fair with just a little more pizzazz.’
IGRA, International Gay Rodeo Association, has been corralling since 1985, although records go back to as late as ’75. Just like regular rodeos, competitors face off in bull-riding or chute-dogging (steer-wrestling where the steer weighs between approximately 180kg and 225kg). The gay rodeo circuit spreads from the west coast of California to as far inland as Oklahoma. This colourful world of drag, bull-riding and goat dressing enticed straight documentary maker Matt Livadary to film this extraordinary community.
‘There’s a ton of music, dancing, vendors and entertainment. There’s generally an enthusiastic and creative fundraising event happening,’ Livadary said.
He described how on one rainy weekend in Chicago, one of the ‘drag queen royalty’ allowed a tractor to drag her through the muddy arena between events to raise $750 for the Trevor Project. There are other events like goat dressing, steer decorating and the ‘wild drag race’ which Livadary said opened up participation to almost anyone.
‘There are ten other events that are common throughout the rodeo world, such as chute dogging, bull riding, and team-roping but unlike most traditional rodeos, women and men can compete in all rodeo events.’
‘All of the money the IGRA makes in its rodeos are donated to charity, so the cash purses [that] the cowboys and cowgirls can win are very small, compared to many professional circuits where they compete for their livelihood.
‘Without the money incentive, and with such an air of acceptance and openness, the IGRA members compete purely for fun and sport which makes it a much more comfortable environment to compete in and one where competitors help each other do well.’
About a year ago, Livadary was working at a Hollywood film production company when he decided he wanted to develop a story around rodeos. He set out for Wyoming and the ‘frontier strip’ of America to photograph the professional circuit.
‘I became immediately addicted to rodeo but admit that the traditional environment is fairly homogeneous. I would imagine it would be very difficult to be out or even a minority at some of these rodeos,’ he said.
‘So when I learned along the journey that there was such a thing as gay rodeo, I was immediately intrigued and knew that it had the potential to be far more interesting than any story I could make up.’
Since February this year Livadary has visited towns and cities including Las Vegas and Chicago, filming the competitions and people involved. By travelling out of pocket he had the opportunity to capture some honest and intimate encounters. From his journey, Livadary said he had been surprised by his own ‘shelteredness’.
‘I have always been a huge supporter of LGBT rights, have great friends who are gay and I consider myself very open minded but I showed up to my first gay rodeo and only then realised how sheltered I am.
‘No one could have been nicer but I couldn’t believe how much I stuttered trying to use pronouns with drag queens, or just how stiff I was!
‘There were straight people, gay people, families, really all sorts of groups and people, and in hindsight, I realised I wasn’t out of place but I was making myself feel out of place. It was a pretty important realisation for me, because I guess I naively thought I didn’t have much to learn.
‘But this whole film has taught me that no matter how open minded we might consider ourselves, it’s important to step outside our respective bubbles every once in a while just as a reminder that we’re all the same.’
The release of Matt Livadary’s documentary Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo is expected next year.
For more information, visit www.queensandcowboys.com.
Benn Dorrington
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