Urbanization and the Dude Ranch

Dude Ranchers provided a sense of nostalgia of the old frontier days. They romanticized the idea of tough and rugged men and rustic charm of the Wild West, the way it used to be. Dude Ranches contextualized this fantasy of cowboys running free on horseback, chasing cattle, and at the end of the day telling stories round a campfire. The fantasy we have all grown to love but few get the chance to experience. Not only did Dude Ranchers play to the hearts of Wild West enthusiasts, it also gave guest a chance to experience real honest labor. As urbanization began to sprawl across America closing the frontier, men began to feel a crisis of masculinity. Men suffering from civilization had the ability to reassert their role as a man through rough dress, simplistic housing accommodations, and hard physical labor. For women, Dude Ranches also offered an escape from their typical gender roles. During the peak time of Dude Ranches, after World War I and the decades that followed, women had been use to a polished way of life. Dude Ranches offered them the ability to wear blue jeans, swing a rope, ride horses, and yell at the top of their lungs just like the men. The media also began romanticizing the West, as articles were written about Dude Ranches and the cowboy experience. Photography of Westerns images and advertisements were produced. Books were written and Hollywood also began making Western movies. These images influenced people to leave their armchair and instead of reading about being a cowboy, try their hand at it. The portrayal of Westerns everywhere in American culture spoke to the broad anxieties of gender roles and an urbanized society.