135 EJAC 38 (2) pp. 135–153 Intellect Limited 2019 European Journal of American Culture Volume 38 Number 2 © 2019 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/ejac.38.2.135_1 CHRIS LEZOTTE Independent Scholar A woman and her truck: Pickups, the woman driver, and cowgirl feminism ABSTRACT Of all the vehicles produced for the American driver, perhaps none is more strongly associated with masculinity than the full-size pickup truck. Although women are recognized as the fastest growing segment of the US pickup market, the reaction to women’s intrusion into what has long been considered male territory has been met with a fair amount of resistance. Female truck drivers often have their feminin- ity questioned, and are subject to unwarranted criticism and negative stereotyping from male peers. However, rather than change the culture, female truck owners have developed a strategy to gain acceptance and legitimacy within it. Identification with the cowgirl – the strong, courageous and fiercely independent woman who helped build the American West – grants women the authority to enter the masculine world of pickup trucks on their own terms. As noted by the 25 pickup-owning women inter- viewed for this project – and considered through the lens of cowgirl feminism, a concept coined by Laura Jane Moore in her historical examination of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame – the assumption of the cowgirl persona not only provides women access into a historically masculine culture, but pronounces them as capable, hardworking, adventurous and empowered women drivers. KEYWORDS automobiles feminism cowgirl trucks American West masculinity