In the Golden Age of Television (1949-1969) Westerns series were popular with American audiences and several had remarkable longevity (Gunsmoke ran for twenty years and Bonnaza for fourteen). While most American Westerns featured the iconic figure of the “cowboy,” there were series starring women (such as Barbara Stanwyck as the matriarch of The Big Valley and Annie Oakley starring Gail Davis). Additionally, a handful of cowgirls also helmed local children’s cartoon shows. This presentation will examine how these TV Women of the Wild West – strong, gun-toting females - either troubled or conformed to other presentations of femininity to which girl viewers had access on the network television shows of this era.
About the presenterVibiana Bowman Cvetkovic
Vibiana Cvetkovic is a Reference Librarian and the head of Access and Collection Services at Rutgers University. She has edited scholarly press books and authored peer-reviewed articles on the topics of intellectual honesty and children’s visual culture. Ms. Cvetkovic is a PhD candidate in the Childhood Studies program and Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey.