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The Cowboy

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The answer to this troubling question of our times, made all the more complicated by the brilliant 'Broke Back Mountain', can be reached by the division of women everywhere into two distinct groups. No, I do not mean those who prefer a man decked out in leather and those who fancy a chap in tweed. What I'm referring to is the split between those girls who grew up following 'the rules' and the charming young ladies who took it upon themselves to edit society's 'guidelines'. Now it may be possible that some women out there feel that they fall somewhere between these two drastically opposing groups. I would also argue that many men fall somewhere between John Wayne and James Bond, but for the purposes of this debate we're cutting it right down the middle.

Now that we've divided women everywhere into our two groups, we have to bring it all back to the topic at hand. For this we have to take a look at each woman's upbringing. Let's take a young lady who grows up in the heart of 'high society', surrounded by men in designer clothes, polished shoes, and florid colognes. If this little girl grows up to be one of our rule breakers, who will stop at nothing to assert her independence, than she'll jump at her first scent of Stetson. But, if our little princess grows up cherishing the rules laid out for her by these prim and proper men of society, then she'll go out and find herself the most dashing dandy of them all. On the other hand if our girl was raised away out in the country then the roles of our two male groupings will switch. The wholesome cowboy will represent the security of her upbringing and the effete metro will be an icon of rebellion.

Does this mean that every girl whose father was too busy shining his shoes to come sit down to tea is going to run off with a bull rider? No. Does this mean that every girl who had to compete for attention with the crops is going to find herself a man who'll stay home and help her decorate the foyer? No. The point is that when dealing with stereotypes, such as cowboys and metrosexuals, everybody brings their own baggage to the table. One can only hope that women in today's world have the ability to sort through their own issues and realize that it's who a man is, and not how he dresses, walks or talks, that makes him a good man. Likewise, one can only hope that today's men realize that they are more than a pair of boots or a festive scarf. If we can just put the clothing aside for a few minutes, maybe we could make something special.

Learn more about this author, Aldous Ford.
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