<P> However, some men were also drawn to the frontier because they were attracted to men . Other times, in a region where men outnumbered women, even social events normally attended by both sexes were at times all male, and men could be found partnering up with one another for dances . Homosexual acts between young, unmarried men occurred, but cowboys culture itself was and remains deeply homophobic . Though anti-sodomy laws were common in the Old West, they often were only selectively enforced . </P> <P> The traditions of the working cowboy were further etched into the minds of the general public with the development of Wild West Shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which showcased and romanticized the life of both cowboys and Native Americans . Beginning in the 1920s and continuing to the present day, Western movies popularized the cowboy lifestyle but also formed persistent stereotypes, both positive and negative . In some cases, the cowboy and the violent gunslinger are often associated with one another . On the other hand, some actors who portrayed cowboys promoted positive values, such as the "cowboy code" of Gene Autry, that encouraged honorable behavior, respect and patriotism . Historian Robert K. DeArment draws a connection between the popularized Western code and the stereotypical rowdy cowboy image to that of the "subculture of violence" of drovers in Old West Texas, that was influenced itself by the Southern code duello . </P> <P> Likewise, cowboys in movies were often shown fighting with American Indians . However most armed conflicts occurred between Native people and cavalry units of the U.S. Army . Relations between cowboys and Native Americans were varied but generally not particularly friendly . Native people usually allowed cattle herds to pass through for a toll of ten cents a head, but raided cattle drives and ranches in times of active white - Native conflict or food shortages . In the 1860s, for example, the Comanche created problems in Western Texas . Similar attacks also occurred with the Apache, Cheyenne and Ute Indians . Cowboys were armed against both predators and human thieves, and often used their guns to run off people of any race who attempted to steal, or rustle cattle . </P> <P> In reality, working ranch hands past and present had very little time for anything other than the constant, hard work involved in maintaining a ranch . </P>

Three contributions of the vaqueros to the american cowboy