Controlling the Reins: Beyond the Cowboy Myth—Ritual, Identity, and Black Masculinity

Explore how Black cowboys “control the reins”—literally through horsemanship and figuratively as a lens on masculinity, history, identity, and belonging in America.
In this episode of In Depth with Academia, Richard Price (Academia.edu) walks through Controlling the Reins by anthropologist Myeshia Babers, offering a neutral, research-focused discussion meant to help listeners reflect (not “take a side”). The conversation follows Babers’ ethnographic fieldwork (2012–2014) among Black-owned ranches and rodeos and highlights what everyday routines reveal: preparation as ritual, control as care, and masculinity as something practiced—built through quiet, repeated acts rather than domination.

Along the way, we revisit the limits of the mainstream “cowboy” image, consider how narratives shape our understanding of race and gender, and reflect on why the power to move, gather, and be seen still matters. The episode closes with an invitation: use research as a starting point for deeper questions about who gets to shape history—and who gets to ride out front.

📌 Listen with curiosity. Keep exploring.
🔗 Shorts playlist: [link]
📄 Related reading / work: [link]

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