About Men by Gretel Ehrlich
This essay talks
about the stereotype commonly known about cowboys. The author begins this essay
by exposing how she misses the barn life and reminiscence it with an advertisement
in which appears the famous Marlboro cowboy. But she is in total disagreement
with the cowboy portrayal given by the company and how it impacts the
stereotype of cowboys in society. She explained that cowboys aren’t that rough
and unemotional, society has disesteemed their true character. According to
Gretel Ehrlich (Biography), they are kind of strong or in some cases rough because their
daily interaction isn’t as constant to the people that live in a more populated
environment. They have almost no one to talk to, they are mostly all day on
horseback tending their livestock. The toughness isn’t about land possession or
conquests, it is more about daily unexpected situations that force them to put
up a front as defense mechanism. They author compare them with rocks,
everything happens to them, but they must endure it and keep going.
Despite the long
hours on horseback, they must take care about the beef-raising industry. They
take care about calves and their mothers, seeing many births, illness and deaths
make them know more about animals than people. The cowboy is someone who really
cares about his livestock and his animals. The time spent with the animals
creates a great sentimental value, in addition to the care give it to their animals,
they are careful and respectful with women. They didn’t know how to get close
to women or how to demonstrate their love. This lonely and distanced lifestyle
cause a poor social life because there is a huge distance between ranches and
even more distance between them and any city. This lonely daily scenario is a
good explanation to the known cowboy personality.
All this
information about the cowboys try to explain the truth about being a cowboy and
who they really are. The author took her time explaining the reality to make a
change in the urban cowboy stereotype. She uses a nice syntax and a good tone
to make the audience sympathize with the cowboys. The examples exposed in the
essay were a great way to see this kind of characters with other perspective.
At the first moment I read the word “cowboy” I imagine the toughest man in the
old west which was on horseback and occupied a big revolver in his belt. Once I
kept reading, my point of view started changing. I see the cowboys as a man who
get directly affected by his work circumstances. I was ignorant about the
reality of a cowboy, I just imagine it like is presented in the movies and
media. I think that the work circumstances affect them directly reforming their
persona. The typical portrayal presented in movies and media, made us be
ignorant of their circumstances and the reality they face.
Many times,
indirectly, we classify someone by his culture or lifestyle even though I don’t
know anything of him or his reasons. That is a big mistake from different
people because how can you classify someone just by his looks, or his culture?
Everybody is different, we can’t stereotype anyone. This situation with the
cowboys have the same basic problem as the black people or Asian people. The
way that many of us thinks that the cowboys are bad and rough, is the same way
that people stereotype black people as gangsters or the Asian as nerds. Another
thing is that they tend to perceive “men” as someone who can’t express their
feelings, they can’t cry in front of anyone, but also someone who is rough. The
man who is the one who works outside and is the provider and main income of the
household. This type of stereotype has changed a little bit but still dominating
in many households and families.
Work cited
Ehrlich, Gretel. Class Assignment. About
Men . UPRRP February 2018.
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