Fotograf Magazine

The publication Heroes by the photographer and documentary filmmaker Karoliina Paatos, born in Utsjoki/Finland in 1979, is conceived in a newspaper format and is considered one of the most exciting discoveries of these days. In her long-term photo project about the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), created between 2011- 2019, she focuses on a counter-design of the machismo monument preservation of a cowboy-western mythology that has degenerated into farce. In classic rodeo, there is no room for dissenters or people with different sexual identities. The audience at these events is characterized by homophobic behavior that can go as far as deadly confrontation. For many people, who stand by their individual way of life, there is thus no place at such events. Out of this discrimination, the first gay rodeos emerged from the 1970s onwards. In 1985, IGRA was founded, which acts as an umbrella organization in the USA and Canada and always organizes the events with charitable purposes. The Gay Rodeos offer space for all people, but in particular provide a home to a mainly rural LGBT community. They thus combine sport without discrimination and an appreciation for Western culture itself.