Thursday, July 12, 2018

Univ. of Wyoming's Cowboy Slogan Called ‘Racist’ 'Sexist'

A new slogan at the University of Wyoming – “The world needs more cowboys” – is drawing criticism as racist, sexist and counterproductive to recruiting out-of-state students. Associate professor Christine Porter told The Laramie Boomerang the new slogan evokes images of stereotypical western icons in the minds of some faculty and misrepresents UW’s research and educational goals. The objections are two-fold. Porter said the slogan both fails to be inclusive and fails to accurately represent UW to those outside Wyoming. “For me, the clearest reason it’s unacceptable is the word ‘boy,’ excluding anyone who identifies as female,” she said. The UW Committee on Women and People of Color also object to the new slogan. The organization wrote a letter to UW Director of Communications Chad Baldwin and University president Laurie Nichols, asking them to “shelve that slogan and find another one that represents the diversity of people and cultures that we have, and want to have, at UW.” Faculty Senate Chair Donald O’Toole told The Boomerang he shared Porter’s concern about the baggage that so often comes with the term “cowboy” thanks to media depictions. The slogan is part of a $1.4 million investment to advertise to prospective students in and outside Wyoming. The university paid a Colorado marketing firm $500,000 to develop the campaign...MORE

And from FoxNews

 "The world needs more cowboys," the University of Wyoming says in a new marketing slogan. But apparently not everyone agrees. The slogan has drawn backlash from critics, including faculty members and Native American groups, who call the catchphrase sexist, racist and counterproductive to university recruitment -- because it excludes women and people of color, Reuters reported. "Honestly, I thought it was a joke at first," associate professor Ellen Currano told the Chronicle of Higher Education. "I thought it was a joke. And then I looked it up on the university web page and saw that no, this was, in fact, serious." The university’s mascot is a “cowboy” riding a bucking horse with hat in hand. But Darrell Hutchinson, a cultural specialist, told Reuters that people who do not fit the stereotypical image of a cowboy – “a white man with a wide-brimmed hat riding the range on horseback” – are not made to feel welcome. “If you’re not a white person, and especially if you’re an Indian, it would make you feel out of place -- it wouldn’t make you feel too good about yourself,” said Hutchinson, a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming. But university officials in Laramie defended the tagline, which they said was created by a Colorado-based marketing firm. “In a vacuum, the term ‘cowboy’ appears gender- and perhaps race-specific, but in the context of the branding campaign it is connected to images and words that show our cowboys are diverse, of every sex and background,” university spokesman Chad Baldwin said, according to Reuters. He said the university wants to “throw away” the stereotype of cowboys, updating what it means and looks like to be one. “A cowboy is not what you are, but who you are,” Baldwin said. A group of female scientists also wrote a letter to university administrators, asking them “embrace a slogan that takes us into the 21st Century,” according to the education news site. Despite the pushback, the new slogan is set to launch Sept. 14...

2 comments:

drjohn said...

there have always been women doing cowboy work and blacks have always been documented since civil war times as cowboys. I say send them pansies back to berkely and as far as the Indians who knows what they want except another welfare check

Dave Skinner said...

And the collective IQ of the educated world drops another point. We're doomed.