Luke Gilford’s “National Anthem” Takes Us to the Queer Rodeo in America.
For his latest book, award-winning creator Luke Gilford spent over three years travelling around rural America and capturing the queer cowboys and cowgirls of the International Gay Rodeo Association.
“One of the great powers of the queer rodeo is its ability to disrupt America’s tribal dichotomies that cannot contain who we really are — liberal versus conservative, urban versus rural, ‘coastal elite’ versus ‘middle America’. It’s incredibly rare to find a community that actually embraces both ends of the spectrum. National Anthem celebrates the typically invisible queer bodies living their lives, discovering themselves and falling in love within rural landscapes,” says Gilford in an interview with i-D.
The International Gay Rodeo Association started in Nevada in 1976, and quickly grew to become an accepting and inclusive space for queer people who wanted to participant in or watch rodeos. Of course, this is a far cry from mainstream rodeo, which is still very much homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic.
“The queer rodeo is a safe space for anyone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, including allies and supporters. Participants often travel hundreds of miles to be there since most live in communities without resources or opportunities for queer people to connect with one another. The IGRA offers structured educational programs and rodeo competitions for men, women and trans people to hone their athletic skills, openness, connection and care for animals, personal integrity, self-confidence and support for one another,” adds Gilford.
