" So many of the men who came to the West were southerners—
men looking for work and a new life after the Civil War—that chivalrousness and strict codes of honor were soon thought of as
western traits. There were very few women in Wyoming during territorial days, so when they did arrive (some as mail-order
brides from places like Philadelphia) there was a standoffishness between the sexes and a formality that persists now. Ranchers still
tip their hats and say, "Howdy, ma'am" instead of shaking hands with me.
Even young cowboys are often evasive with women. It's not that they're Jekyll and Hyde creatures—gentle with animals and
rough on women—but rather, that they don't know how to bring their tenderness into the house and lack the vocabulary to express
the complexity of what they feel. "

― Gretel Ehrlich