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Queer West How the West Was Fabulous
Stories of the American West often rely on tired tropes of tough cowboys, but real history is much less straight and narrow and way more interesting. Join host Niecy Nash-Betts for a wild round-up of LGBTQ+ lives that got buried in the dust of popular culture and history and take a look at how queer people continue to shape the West today–from gay rodeos to two-spirit identity to trans truckers.
Episode 1: "Welcome, Y'all!"
Saddle up and get ready to make some lifestyle choices! Host Niecy Nash-Betts introduces herself and the series–explaining how folks like her, a Black Hollywood star who’s married to a woman, find power in sorting out their place in the American West by bucking the typical stereotypes. From John Wayne to Lil Nas X, dressing the part has always been part of the package in coming to terms with a complicated history.
Episode 2: "Oklahomos!"
The musical Oklahoma! is a saga of the plains often performed as a high school musical and presented as an American Classic. But the man behind its creation–a gay Cherokee playwright named Lynn Riggs–is barely known today. We get to know Lynn Riggs, who mined the yearning in old cowboy songs to express himself, and ended up revealing the spiritual connections between the West, musicals, and queer identity.
Episode 3: "The Man in Lavender"
Country cred is a confusing mix of cheesy marketing and hard-to-put-your-finger-on-it authenticity. And that leaves a lot of room for country music to speak to tons of queerdos and fans from all walks of life. Back in 1973, a real-deal outlaw musician named Patrick Haggerty gave the finger to all the rules in Nashville and made the first gay country album–breaking a mold that, decades later, still needs remaking.
Episode 4: "Calamity Jane"
Calamity Jane–whose name became shorthand for gender-bendy nonconformity in the old West–was a legend in her own time, and remains a puzzle in ours. But in 1953, when homosexuality was illegal in every state, Doris Day brought her to life in a very queer film with a hit song that echoed off the walls of gay bars for decades.
Episode 5: "A Gay Utopia in Alpine County"
In 1970, an earnest vision to create a gay utopia took on a life of its own—by turns a prank, a punchline, a valid plan, and a source of panic for right-wing pundits. We’ll look at how a proposal to take over a small town in the Sierra Nevadas became a national story that forever changed how the media covered gay and lesbian people.
Episode 6: "Deborah’s Mission"
Mission-style has come to be part of California’s vibe...from architecture to burritos. But two-spirit writer Deborah Miranda is flipping the picture of California’s missions, and helping us to see California’s real history. As a California Indian whose sexuality is deeply tied to her understanding of herself and her community, Deborah’s story about finding her ancestors and finding her truth is the work of a lifetime.
Episode 7: "Old Mrs. Nash"
This is a story about how queer stories get erased from the history of the West, and why. At the very moment that new ideas about sexuality (and the words hetero and homosexual) were gaining ground in America, there was a huge freak-out happening about “the death of the frontier”. The ways these ideas collided in a battle about American identity show the power of questioning whose history matters. And this reflects the way we see not just the past but our current moment and future. One powerful example: Old Mrs. Nash (no relation to Niecy!), a Mexican laundress for General Custer in the 1870s.
Episode 8: "Gay Rodeo"
In the 1980s, the rodeo became a lifeline for queer folks to cowboy up and be themselves out West. Gay men, especially, found a place to be country and be out and proud at a time when that could cost them everything. Then, when the AIDS crisis hit, gay rodeo became a life-saving community, a place to stare down the odds and cheer each other on. But can an organization confronting the myths of a bygone past find a way to honor its own history without that getting in the way of moving into the future?
Episode 9: "Concrete Cowboys"
Are cowboys...passé? Take ‘em or leave ‘em, we can’t seem to quit ‘em. One form of modern-day cowboy is the trucker–or concrete cowboy. We meet a Black lesbian trucker who finds solace in a kind of cowboy code of ethics and explore how modern queer and trans truckers find freedom in being lone wolves on the open road. But independence can be a double-edged sword for drivers who are trying to be both themselves and stay safe. Our series ends out on the open road, reflecting on the many ways queerness embodies the myths and ideals of America itself: bold, brave, authentic, system-bucking, and always changing.
Episode 1: "Welcome, Y'all!"
Saddle up and get ready to make some lifestyle choices! Host Niecy Nash-Betts introduces herself and the series–explaining how folks like her, a Black Hollywood star who’s married to a woman, find power in sorting out their place in the American West by bucking the typical stereotypes. From John Wayne to Lil Nas X, dressing the part has always been part of the package in coming to terms with a complicated history.
Episode 2: "Oklahomos!"
The musical Oklahoma! is a saga of the plains often performed as a high school musical and presented as an American Classic. But the man behind its creation–a gay Cherokee playwright named Lynn Riggs–is barely known today. We get to know Lynn Riggs, who mined the yearning in old cowboy songs to express himself, and ended up revealing the spiritual connections between the West, musicals, and queer identity.
Episode 3: "The Man in Lavender"
Country cred is a confusing mix of cheesy marketing and hard-to-put-your-finger-on-it authenticity. And that leaves a lot of room for country music to speak to tons of queerdos and fans from all walks of life. Back in 1973, a real-deal outlaw musician named Patrick Haggerty gave the finger to all the rules in Nashville and made the first gay country album–breaking a mold that, decades later, still needs remaking.
Episode 4: "Calamity Jane"
Calamity Jane–whose name became shorthand for gender-bendy nonconformity in the old West–was a legend in her own time, and remains a puzzle in ours. But in 1953, when homosexuality was illegal in every state, Doris Day brought her to life in a very queer film with a hit song that echoed off the walls of gay bars for decades.
Episode 5: "A Gay Utopia in Alpine County"
In 1970, an earnest vision to create a gay utopia took on a life of its own—by turns a prank, a punchline, a valid plan, and a source of panic for right-wing pundits. We’ll look at how a proposal to take over a small town in the Sierra Nevadas became a national story that forever changed how the media covered gay and lesbian people.
Episode 6: "Deborah’s Mission"
Mission-style has come to be part of California’s vibe...from architecture to burritos. But two-spirit writer Deborah Miranda is flipping the picture of California’s missions, and helping us to see California’s real history. As a California Indian whose sexuality is deeply tied to her understanding of herself and her community, Deborah’s story about finding her ancestors and finding her truth is the work of a lifetime.
Episode 7: "Old Mrs. Nash"
This is a story about how queer stories get erased from the history of the West, and why. At the very moment that new ideas about sexuality (and the words hetero and homosexual) were gaining ground in America, there was a huge freak-out happening about “the death of the frontier”. The ways these ideas collided in a battle about American identity show the power of questioning whose history matters. And this reflects the way we see not just the past but our current moment and future. One powerful example: Old Mrs. Nash (no relation to Niecy!), a Mexican laundress for General Custer in the 1870s.
Episode 8: "Gay Rodeo"
In the 1980s, the rodeo became a lifeline for queer folks to cowboy up and be themselves out West. Gay men, especially, found a place to be country and be out and proud at a time when that could cost them everything. Then, when the AIDS crisis hit, gay rodeo became a life-saving community, a place to stare down the odds and cheer each other on. But can an organization confronting the myths of a bygone past find a way to honor its own history without that getting in the way of moving into the future?
Episode 9: "Concrete Cowboys"
Are cowboys...passé? Take ‘em or leave ‘em, we can’t seem to quit ‘em. One form of modern-day cowboy is the trucker–or concrete cowboy. We meet a Black lesbian trucker who finds solace in a kind of cowboy code of ethics and explore how modern queer and trans truckers find freedom in being lone wolves on the open road. But independence can be a double-edged sword for drivers who are trying to be both themselves and stay safe. Our series ends out on the open road, reflecting on the many ways queerness embodies the myths and ideals of America itself: bold, brave, authentic, system-bucking, and always changing.
Audible Audio
Published May 30, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 22, 2024
This was so fun!
September 15, 2024
Cute. Short stories of gay stuff that changed history in and around the Wild West.
November 29, 2025
4.5 stars. I picked this up because it’s narrated by one of my first crushes, Niecy Nash-Betts. I’ve been smitten with that woman since I was young and saw her on Reno 9-1-1 and she’s still fine to this day. Anyway, thirsting aside, this was really good! I wish it was a documentary series or something to watch but it does work really well as an audio. I liked the Queer history of the American west. I enjoyed all of the chapters in this but my favorites were ‘Oklahomos’ (about the musical Oklahoma) and ‘The Man in Lavender’ (gay country music). This was a great listen and super entertaining.
July 12, 2024
Finally got a chance to listen to this yesterday, it was well balanced with history of the 'Wild West' and it's queer joy and sadness - I did laugh, and cry (hearing Patrick Haggerty's dad story) in parts !
October 15, 2024
I love Old West stuff. It's fascinating in its awfulness. So myself being queer, I was like cool let's see where this goes.. This was more podcast than audiobook, so maybe that's what disappointed me. But it was just... barely interesting.
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July 11, 2024An interesting listen of cowboy and trucker life through the eyes of the LGBT+.
August 6, 2024
how the west was(is) queer.
fun audible listen, highly recommend.
fun audible listen, highly recommend.
December 31, 2024
OMG! Thank you Niecy for this honest, informative, courageous and absolutely amazing history lesson of gays in the west!!
January 2, 2025
Interesting, but some of the audio wasn't very good.
January 4, 2025
A great listen. It wasn't quite what I expected (hoping for more discussion of movies and fashion, etc.) but it was interesting, engaging and had great interviews. Niecy Nash-Betts was fabulous
March 7, 2025
Such a lovely listening experience. Wonderful histories shared in the perfect way.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews