From Outlaw to Role Model: Calamity Jane and Traditional Gender Role Patterns in the Western

Abstract

The Western film genre has been a particularly male-dominated genre for a long time and therefore, female roles have been stereotyped. Yet, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, changes occurred in these patterns. This thesis uses the film character Calamity Jane to pinpoint those changes by comparing four movies throughout the twentieth century: "The Plainsman" (1937), "Young Bill Hickok" (1940), "Calamity Jane" (1984), and "Buffalo Girls" (1995). Readers will see that in time, the fixed female archetypes and male role patterns change or disappear.