The Classic Cowboy has been revamped thanks to meme culture, crossover cowboy musicians, and the “Black Cowboy”. The Yeehaw Agenda is where style collides with music and internet memes. It is a dazzling take on the western cowboy that has been done and redone over and over again in fashion, in shoes, on celebrities, and at festivals in the last year.
Let’s think back to the original flashy “cowboys” who defied the casual “John Wayne” type of Western and moved into a whole new trend that is now dominating the internet. We had Dolly Parton’s bedazzles, Elvis Presley’s fringe wear long before the “Yeehaw Agenda”, but since then it has become gayer, funnier, more inclusive, and suited to a younger audience. A good example of this is the “Compton Cowboys”, a group of Los Angeles equestrians who have escaped poverty and reworked their future in the community of horse-riding cowboys (see links below).
The term “Yeehaw Agenda” was coined on Twitter and Instagram by Bri Malanandro (who runs the pages) as way to mark the intentional black take back of the cowboy style. The movement started as a way for the black cowboy to gain visibility in a culture that had erased them in exchange for posters of John Wayne and Westerns starring White protagonists. The white cowboy was no longer the only conspicuous cowboy, and wearing western garb was seen as an act of representation and a tribute to rewriting history accurately- where some of the best cowboys in the western world were black. To reference some old with new, think Diana Ross performing “Annie Get Your Gun” in 1969 in full cow-spotted garb, with familiar cowboy themes seen in Beyonce’s “Daddy Issues” that references the West, Texas, Guns, and 10 gallon hats.
Lil Nas X and Meghan Thee Stallion have elevated the Black Cowboy into star-studded pop culture and into the hands, phones, and outfits of millennials and Gen Z teens. Not only is Yeehaw a style, it’s a movement. It feels like a throwback with artistic flare: more customizable than the sneaker movement but still with a guiding template on how to “dress” with added leather, studs, colors, and velvet. As Mason Ramsey says;
“If you ain’t got no giddy up / then giddy out my way” – Mason Ramsey, Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X is a true Gen Z renaissance man: a memer, a social media genius, a music producer, and a cowboy. He parodied western music and was initially removed from the country charts only to top the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 17 plus weeks thanks to his hit-making skills and the addition of Billy Ray Cyrus, Young Thug, Mason Ramsey, and others on remix after remix.
Meghan Thee Stallion capitalized on this trend in perfect unison with her emergence into mainstream pop culture. A Texas native, her name “stallion” represents a term used for “tall, beautiful black women” and builds on that with every stripper heel paired with a pink 10 gallon hat she puts on. Meghan Thee Stallion is latex and leather, bootstraps and bedazzles. Festival wear, night wear, and everyday wear has been modelled after her flashy looks. Meghan made Yeehaw hot. Her salacious lyrics and “hot girl party” tour converted thousands of city girls into yeehaw girls. Yeehaw was now glamourous as well as fashionable, and acceptable in the cities.
Another Yeehawism of the new wave saw Charlie XCX, Dorian Electra and Troye Sivan create and execute “Go West Fest” in 2019. The western promotion was exciting and on-brand with what people wanted to see. On top of that, Yeehaw was officially queered, and western drag outfits, stripper bars, and queer performers started showing up in their lingerie-esque and western versions of themselves. Go West Fest featured pop-up booths by local artists, crafters, and creators and held give-aways from hosts such as Calvin Clein, Glossier, and other names.
Ultimately, the Yeehaw Agenda is special because it is inclusive of all demographics and builds off of a rustic, acutely American history and includes those who were initially left behind. The Yeehaw Agenda is a powerful movement because it embraces the power of youth and minorities and tells a story that ascends classism and race and brings us together. The Yeehaw Agenda is a yet another successful movement started by black artists that has gained massive traction in popular culture and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE CLOTHING AND WHO TO FOLLOW
FASHION
@pskaufman – amazing handmade shoes
@modernvice- shoes made in NY that often have 50% off of more outlet sales
@milacamilaco – for amazing western bags and @elrodeostore
& of course Party City for multi colored cowboy hats
MUSICIANS
@dorianelectra and @parkerday for wild cowboy flair
@theestallion, @lilnasx, @thuggerthugger1, and @masonramsey
SOCIALS
@theyeehawagenda and the founder @brimaldandro
@comptoncowboys. “Streets Raised Us. Horses Saved Us”
Taylor Overstreet 