The images we have about the old west don't tell the whole story. The Wild West was populated and explored by a wide range of people of all genders colors ethnicities as sexual orientation. Author Gregory Hinton is working to shake up the stereotypical view of Western history in an effort to make the present day Mountain West a more welcoming place for the gay and lesbian community. He's bringing his museum program series called out west at the San Diego History Center this week. Gregory Hinton welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Now as a gay man growing up in Wyoming. Did you ever hear about the history any kind of history of the LGBT community in the old west. No I didn't. As a matter of fact about 10 years ago when I went looking I really couldn't find any reference to our history anywhere in the American West. How did you ultimately learn about the fact that gays and lesbians were part of the Western experience. I I brought a concept to the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles basically with the idea of giving visibility to our community in the museum and also in the history books. It was the fresh idea. They really liked it. So we created a program series called out west at the Autry and then we went on a hunt for historians scholars artists writers who were who were doing work about the subject and of course the film Brokeback Mountain came up right away. You focus not only on Brokeback Mountain but actually way back on Buffalo Bill Cody and his wild west show. Can you tell us a little bit about that. Sure exactly. After I worked with the Autry I submitted for a fellowship at the Buffalo Bill center of the West in Cody Wyoming which was the Museum of my youth I was a kid there and I offered to analyze their collection for evidence of the history of my community. And it's you know various museums and they thought that was great. So they brought me in and kind of on the first day I was told to look up French artist name rows of honour. And I was also advised that when Cody took his Buffalo Bills Wild West to London that he'd had dinner with Oscar Wilde. So that was pretty cool. And I just studied both of them more in-depth. Basically it was advice to me that Cody just only took you at your word. He he was about as unprejudiced of a man as you could find and for him it took all kinds. So I'm fairly certain that he knew about Wilde's background because wild toward America in 1882 and the press was basically all over him and Rosa Bonnar was famous for requiring a permit from the French government to dress like a man. But she was a highly acclaimed French artist of the 19th century and she visited him when he came to Paris with Buffalo Bills Wild Wild West then so they got to know each other and you know it was as I say it took all kinds for him. Now you make the point that the terms gay and homosexual were not even widely used at the time in the 19th century that we're talking about. Was there a certain acceptance of same sex couples even though those relationships were illegal in many places. I don't know. There was acceptance but there was possibly an avoidance of of the fact. I think there have always been remarks and you know people had to be careful for instance Boehner had a life partner of fifty years who had passed away three months before she met Cody and she really credited Cody for what she said relieving her sad old mind by allowing her access to the behind the scenes that the wild west camp so people made derisive remarks as they always will. But I think she was powerful enough that she didn't really have to change or arrangements. But Oscar Wilde of course met a different very tragic fate. Now Gregory you left the rural west because you felt you couldn't live openly and safely and fully as a gay man there. So why do you feel the pull to go back to the west now. Later in life I felt really great need to reclaim a place and community in the areas where where I was raised. And I was daunted by the idea of going back to Wyoming as who I am. But I decided just to go with it. And when I connected with the museum and Cody I I basically was coming out openly as a gay man in Wyoming but the murder of Matthew Shepard in which the anniversary is 20 years this year was heavily on my mind as was the film Brokeback Mountain because they portray a Wyoming that's unfriendly to the LGBT community but what I found personally was much much different than that. The museum was interested in my work and they welcomed me as who I am. What kinds of items and anecdotes do you share in your outwest program. Well we kind of cover the gamut. We had one program called two spirits which basically covers an aspect of some Native American cultures which were welcoming of there for lack of a better word. There are transgender children. They didn't impose change on them and we did an out and Oscar Wilde Buffalo Bill program detailing their friendship and kind of their Oscar Wilde's take on the West. And Codys take on England and Oscar Wilde. What I'm most proud of is that we facilitated a gay rodeo photography exhibition by photographer Blake little which has traveled all over the country and it's been to San Diego as well. How have things changed in rural western towns. Mountain western towns and other conservative areas. What have you found. What I've found is my brother was gay as I said and we used to wonder what life would have been like if we'd never left. You know the rural mountain west and what I've found and states like Montana in particular that the LGBTQ community is alive and well with a great deal of visibility. You know there's not a prevailing metropolis there so there are pockets of communities living in kind of you know Missoula Bozeman Billings Helena and they've made their lives. They're open they have businesses they know they love being there. They understand that they no longer need to leave the communities where they're from and come to the city it's it's a different lifestyle which which they they no longer really have to give up. And I've been speaking to Gregory Henson creator and producer of the museum program out west. He'll be speaking tomorrow night at 6:00 at the San Diego History Center at Balboa Park and Gregory. Thank you.
Author Gregory Hinton is working to shake up the stereotypical view of the history of the American West in an effort to make the present day Mountain West a more welcoming place for the gay and lesbian community.
Hinton's research revealed a little-known history of the legendary showman William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, who befriended the gay playwright Oscar Wilde and French painter Rosa Bonheur, who required a government permit to dress like a man. Hinton's traveling exhibit called "Out West" includes lectures, plays, films and a photography series featuring a gay rodeo.
Hinton will be speaking at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park on Thursday, August 23 at 6 p.m.
