Till the Cows Come Home
The 52nd Annual Mr., Miss, Ms., and Mx. Cow Contest is coming next month
In 1969, the Casper Motorcycle Club owned the title of Mr. Cowboy, a title that Lee Burnside held from 1969 to 1972. Then, in that last year, Emperor I After Norton Marcus Hernandez promoted the start of the Mr. Cowboy contest as a fundraiser with the Council of Emperors. Thus, the Cow Contest eventually fell under the leadership of the reigning monarchs of the Imperial Council of San Francisco.
The contest, itself, is a raffle ticket sales competition with titles given to the persons who sell the most tickets; those proceeds from the contest go toward benefiting the Imperial Council of San Francisco, Inc. and support the SF LGBTQIA+ community.
The Covered Wagon Saloon at 911 Folsom Street hosted the Mr. Cowboy contest in 1972 — the first iteration of the event under the Imperial Council of San Francisco, which then added the title of Miss Cowgirl that same year. In total, 23 contestants competed for the title of Mr. Cowboy. But, according to an article in the B.A.R., things didn’t go so well.
The winner of the title was a bartender named Ken Rector, who, along with two other contestants, entered the bar that day… on horseback. Once the organization counted the tickets, they announced Rector as the winner. Many in attendance were quoted as “stirred into a frenzy of accusations, charges, and counter-charges of fraud, fake fix, and cheat.” The first title for Miss Cowgirl went to Helen Naffey.
I reached out to hear more about the contest from my friend Ronnie Lynn, who moved to San Francisco in 1969 to pursue a career in cosmetology. He started getting involved with the Court in 1974 through his friend Tammy Lynn, who was Miss Gay San Francisco circa 1975. Lynn said, “She came into The Wig Palace on Market Street where I was doing hair and pointed at a wig on the top shelf and said ‘I’ll take that wig just like it is.” Lynn laughed and said, “She said she was going to have her kickoff event for Miss Gay San Francisco that evening, and that’s when our friendship began.”
Lynn then went on to say that everything changed after meeting Tammy. His world of friends in his new city opened up, and he was thrilled to start being a part of the Court System.
When Ronnie decided to run for Miss Cowgirl in 1981, raffle tickets were only $1; today, those tickets are now $5. Three other contestants vied for the Cowgirl title along with Ronnie, Big D, and Joey. Unfortunately, only one ran for Cowboy, Mr. Billy Ray.
Lynn said of the event: “The excitement of being involved with the Court was amazing. I met a lot of people and sold over 1500 raffle tickets beating out the other two more popular contestants.” He talked about his fringe western outfits, lipsyncing to Tammy Wynette’s “Good Girls Gonna Go Bad,” Patsy Cline “Crazy,” and Loretta Lynn. “Fist City.”
I reached out to our most recent titleholder, Mx. Cowhand Foxxy Blue Snacks, to learn about their reign. They said that as “one of the quarantine title-holders of the Imperial Court of San Francisco, many proud moments come to mind about the last year and the months leading up to it. In service to the Court of the Majestic Golden Gate and leading up to winning the first gender-neutral title in the history of the ICSF, I have been given so many opportunities to show up in support of many social movements and to continue very important conversations on diversity and gender expansiveness within the court system.”
Snack continued: “Being able to represent the ICSF during a time of racial uprising and a global pandemic was an absolute honor. I am so proud to have been a part of a team of primarily young queer and trans-POC individuals who innovated ways for the court to continue using their platform in a virtual world, so we could continue to raise vital funds and awareness during shelter-in-place. Without skipping a beat, we not only continued to engage our regular audience but also shared a glimpse of what we do to folks all around the world.”
(Also, while researching this essay about “Cows,” I came across the song “Till the Cows Come Home” by blues singer Lucille Bogan. She was an American classic female blues singer and songwriter. However, in the 1930s, her recordings began to concentrate on drinking and sex. Listen to this fantastic recording of Till the Cows Come Home [Explicit].)
When Snacks proudly accepted the honor in a downtown hotel room, she said the following: “I proudly stood in a denim evening gown and committed myself to the service of creating sources of liberation for QTBIPOC in our community. As the child of an immigrant field worker from Mexico, I am proud that my ICSF legacy honors the Cowhand. I know firsthand that field workers have always shown us real hard work and community care. Upon receiving my lifetime title of Mx. Cowhand 2020–21, I look forward to continuing to make sure that all members of our community find safety, inspiration, and support from the Imperial Court regardless of their identity.”
Last weekend His Most Imperial Majesty (HMIM) Emperor Mr. David Glamamore and I got to continue the tradition and kicked off the 52nd Annual Cow Contest at The Cinch Saloon. By the end of the evening, we had a total of six fabulous contestants — Sister Chola de Dah, Joshua Bushby, Jubilee, ZoJob, Brandon West, and Princess Panocha — going for the titles of Mr.Cowboy, Miss Cowgirl, Ms.Cowgirl, and Mx. Cowhand.
Now, the contestants have until the finale event on Sunday, December 19 to sell raffle tickets in which 90% of those gross sales will benefit The Imperial Council of San Francisco, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in California.
The raffle ticket prizes include a $500 Apple Gift Card, a two-night stay for 2–4 people at the R3 Hotel in Guerneville, and a Mr. David Couture Kaftan and a Juanita MORE! 3-tiered Carrot Cake.
Please support this historical event and reach out to our contestants to purchase raffle tickets via their Instagram profiles.
- ZoJob Instagram
- Sister Chola de Dah Instagram
- Joshua Bushby Instagram
- Brandon West Instagram
- Jubilee Instagram
- Princess Panocha Instagram
All the monies raised will go to the Roses Initiative, which grew out of the TRUTH Program supporting trans girls of color. TRUTH is a youth-led program for trans and gender-nonconforming young people to build public understanding, empathy, and a movement for liberation through storytelling and media organizing. They are building a world where trans girls of color are taking the roses for themselves. A world that not only affirms but is safe for trans girls of color and where they can be and find love.
To learn more about the Imperial Council of San Francisco, visit imperialcouncilsf.org. Please visit the Imperial Council of San Francisco’s website to donate to the reigning Monarchs Charity Fund.
