In this Book
- Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in Kinshasa
- Book
- 2016
- Published by: Indiana University Press
- Series: African Expressive Cultures
summary
During the 1950s and 60s in the Congo city of Kinshasa, there emerged young urban male gangs known as "Bills" or "Yankees." Modeling themselves on the images of the iconic American cowboy from Hollywood film, the "Bills" sought to negotiate lives lived under oppressive economic, social, and political conditions. They developed their own style, subculture, and slang and as Ch. Didier Gondola shows, engaged in a quest for manhood through bodybuilding, marijuana, violent sexual behavior, and other transgressive acts. Gondola argues that this street culture became a backdrop for Congo-Zaire's emergence as an independent nation and continues to exert powerful influence on the country's urban youth culture today.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-14
- Part I. Falling Men
- pp. 15-16
- 1. “Big Men”
- pp. 17-30
- 2. A Colonial Cronos
- pp. 31-46
- 3. Missionary Interventions
- pp. 47-68
- Part II. Man Up!
- pp. 69-70
- 4. Tropical Cowboys
- pp. 71-93
- 5. Performing Masculinities
- pp. 94-115
- 6. Protectors and Predators
- pp. 116-146
- Part III. Metamorphoses
- pp. 147-148
- 7. Père Buffalo
- pp. 149-178
- 8. Avatars
- pp. 179-202
- Bibliography
- pp. 233-244
Additional Information
ISBN
9780253020802
Related ISBN(s)
9780253020666, 9780253020772
MARC Record
OCLC
947618472
Pages
296
Launched on MUSE
2016-05-25
Language
English
Open Access
No