When thinking of the Old West, the mind often conjures images of rugged, stereotypically masculine cowboys performing heroic acts, such as riding to the rescue of damsels in distress while engaging in traditional “tough guy” activities like using tobacco, handling guns, and consuming alcohol.

However, it may come as a surprise to learn about how cowboys in the Wild West actually viewed homosexuality. In Wild West society, there wasn’t a strict labeling of individuals by their sexuality.

Instead, people were allowed to express themselves as they needed in any given moment. According to Peter Boag, the Chairman of the History Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder and author of the book “Same Sex Affairs,” individuals engaged in same-sex activities were not necessarily seen as homosexual.

In communities where women were scarce, such as mining camps filled with men, some men would take on both the physical and domestic roles typically associated with women, challenging traditional gender norms.

In essence, men in the Old West found companionship and physical intimacy where they could, highlighting the fluidity and adaptability of relationships in this historical context.

In an era characterized by more permissive attitudes, one might wonder why there weren’t higher birth rates. While condoms were indeed available, they were often prohibitively expensive. As a result, many people turned to medications to terminate pregnancies.

These medications often contained toxic ingredients, frequently derived from plant sources, which effectively induced miscarriages. For women involved in activities like sex work, pregnancy posed significant risks.

It not only had the potential to end their careers but also posed life-threatening dangers. In fact, many women on the frontier tragically lost their lives during childbirth.

Consequently, women often faced the difficult choice between pregnancies that could be life-threatening or resorting to noxious substances to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

In the Wild West, it was typical for families to reside in small, one-room houses, which meant that every family member shared the same living space. Consequently, achieving privacy, especially when it came to intimate moments, was a significant challenge in such close quarters.

The concept of privacy, particularly concerning adult intimacy, developed differently in Europe compared to the United States. In Europe, during the Reformation era, influential figures like Martin Luther helped establish a sense of sanctity and privacy surrounding intimate matters, which had not existed to the same extent previously.

However, in the United States, privacy often corresponded with socioeconomic class.

Those with more financial resources could afford the luxury of private spaces, but the majority of people in the Wild West did not have the means to enjoy such privacy, which made it especially challenging for them to find intimate moments away from the prying eyes and ears of other family members or relatives.

Historian Peter Boag’s research on the Old West revealed the surprising prevalence of cross-dressing during that era. Women frequently dressed as men to gain advantages and opportunities that were otherwise denied to them due to their gender.

However, what Boag found equally unexpected was the substantial number of stories involving men who dressed as women during this time.

This phenomenon of both female-to-male and male-to-female cross-dressing sheds light on the complex and diverse ways individuals challenged traditional gender norms in the American West.

In Chad Heap’s book “Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in American Nightlife, 1885-1940,” he discusses the cultural attitudes of the time period, explaining that oral pleasure was viewed as somewhat foreign and not commonly practiced by Americans during that era.

Surprisingly, there is evidence to suggest that even sex workers were hesitant about engaging in this practice and would ostracize others who were willing to partake in it.

This sheds light on the prevailing sexual norms and stigmas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States.

In the Old West, the slang and terminology for intimate activities were quite different from contemporary language. One unusual term from that era is “pirooting,” which was used to refer to intercourse.

This unique vernacular reflects the distinct culture and expressions of the time in the Wild West.

In the Old West, women faced limited options and were often regarded as subordinate to men in terms of social standing. This unfortunate reality contributed to a culture of pervasive sexual assault, and survivors had few, if any, avenues for seeking recourse.

As noted by author and women’s crisis worker Nancy Williams, despite significant technological progress over the last 150 years, such as the transition from steam engines to jet engines and from outhouses to modern indoor plumbing, the advancement in defending against sexual assault has not kept pace.

In the Old West, there was a notable absence of proper education regarding intimacy. This meant that people not only had limited knowledge about their own bodies but were also uninformed about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

During the late 1800s, there were packets referred to as “marriage manuals” that aimed to provide some information on the topic. However, these manuals were often inaccurate and strongly emphasized the importance of engaging in intimate activities exclusively within the confines of marriage.

They also conveyed the belief that self-pleasure was considered unhealthy, as any use of a man’s seed for purposes other than procreation was viewed unfavorably from a religious perspective.

For those seeking more comprehensive information, practical learning by doing was often the only option, given the lack of formal education and the limited resources available on the subject during that time.