Start Date
4-30-2026 10:35 AM
End Date
4-30-2026 11:45 AM
Disciplines
History
Abstract
Annie Oakley was a famous female sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for over 16 years. Despite being a woman in a largely male-dominated profession, she became a nationwide sensation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, outpacing other female shooters who followed her example. This paper seeks to analyze how specific attributes of Oakley’s feminine persona supported her unprecedented success amidst changing cultural values. Photos and videos of Oakley and secondary scholarship focused on Oakley’s role in western expansion reveal how Oakley leveraged her femininity to create a name for herself and took advantage of burgeoning new images of the West. In many ways, she deliberately avoided the image of a feminist trailblazer and acted in accordance with gender norms. An interpretation of Oakley’s presentation reveals the strategic marketing choices which branded Oakley as non-threatening, captivating, and inspiring, and allowed her to become a lasting Western icon.
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Included in
Subversive Shooting: How Annie Oakley Rose to Nationwide Notoriety
Annie Oakley was a famous female sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for over 16 years. Despite being a woman in a largely male-dominated profession, she became a nationwide sensation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, outpacing other female shooters who followed her example. This paper seeks to analyze how specific attributes of Oakley’s feminine persona supported her unprecedented success amidst changing cultural values. Photos and videos of Oakley and secondary scholarship focused on Oakley’s role in western expansion reveal how Oakley leveraged her femininity to create a name for herself and took advantage of burgeoning new images of the West. In many ways, she deliberately avoided the image of a feminist trailblazer and acted in accordance with gender norms. An interpretation of Oakley’s presentation reveals the strategic marketing choices which branded Oakley as non-threatening, captivating, and inspiring, and allowed her to become a lasting Western icon.