The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 107, July 2003 - April, 2004 Page: 634

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

Klahn, and Patricia Zavella consider representations of Chicanas in popular cul-
ture and academic scholarship. Blackwell, for instance, upsets the dominant
masculinist narrative of the Chicano movement by recovering printed materials
from groups like Las Hijas de Cuauhtemoc. Fregoso's assessment of the film
Lone Star and Ann duCille's response are particularly intriguing. The film's
seemingly celebratory presentation of multiculturalism, Fregoso argues, hinges
on the marginalization of racialized women. With keen insight, these essays show
the ways that different representations of Chicanas cannot be divorced from
dominant discourses on race, gender, and sexuality.
This book provides a solid collection of Chicana feminists' recent theorizing,
research, and artistic expressions. The variety of essays is stimulating to read, but
its greatest utility will likely be in the classroom. A solid starting point for either
feminist-theory classes or border-studies classes, this collection provides multiple
perspectives and meanings for "Chicana feminism." The editors' format of giv-
ing each essay a formal response provides numerous opportunities for expand-
ing the dialogue on Chicana feminisms.
Texas A&M Universzty Anthony Mora
Wzld Women of the Old West. Edited by Glenda Riley and Richard W. Etulain.
(Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 2003. Pp. xxvi+23o. Series pref-
ace, acknowledgments, photographs, illustrations, sources and further read-
ing, contributors, index. ISBN 1-55591-295-8. $17.95, paper.)
Even today, a hundred years or more after its passing, the Wild West contin-
ues to conjure up images of wide open spaces, freedom, and rugged individuali-
ty. And although we tend to think more of male characters-trappers, cowboys,
Indian warriors-in connection with the Western mystique, women of the fron-
tier also enjoyed more opportunities for self-expression than their tamer Eastern
counterparts.
Wild Women of the Old West, the latest offering in Fulcrum Publishing's "No-
table Westerners" series, highlights both the phenomenon of wild women and
the careers of some of the most intriguing female westerners in a series of nine
essays by respected historians. From household names like mining queen Baby
Doe Tabor and rustler Cattle Kate, to lesser-known heroines like rodeo star
Bertha Kaepernik Blancett and fancy woman Sadie Orchard, the women's lives
and the significance of their accomplishments are discussed. The essays provide
plenty of background and scholarly detail, but clearly portray the ladies' human
side as well.
An interesting issue that is touched upon in several of the essays is how leg-
end has skewed the true facts of these women's lives. Although this is certainly
true of many male western legends as well, the sheer unusualness and notoriety
of women acting so independently made them especially susceptible to rumor
and wild speculation. Thus, Calamity Jane blossomed from an alcoholic house-
wife who occasionally worked as a mule-driver, and appeared sporadically in
several small Wild West shows, into the sharp-shooting heroine and paramour
of Wild Bill Hickok (who apparently in reality didn't know her very well and

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