Interestingly enough, that was part of the ‘wildness’ of the wild west. Obviously it was still far more sexist and racist today, but many African-Americans went west in the hopes of escaping the prejudice they experienced in the South, with nearly a fourth of ‘cowboys’ (in the literal, ranching sense) being Black. Manpower was short enough that traditional society couldn’t really ‘stop’ a woman from doing much of anything - women ended up running bars, running protection on coaches, ranching, etc.
Are we talking now or the time of the “wild west” where you surely didn’t want to be black or a woman?
Interestingly enough, that was part of the ‘wildness’ of the wild west. Obviously it was still far more sexist and racist today, but many African-Americans went west in the hopes of escaping the prejudice they experienced in the South, with nearly a fourth of ‘cowboys’ (in the literal, ranching sense) being Black. Manpower was short enough that traditional society couldn’t really ‘stop’ a woman from doing much of anything - women ended up running bars, running protection on coaches, ranching, etc.