History Main / AmericansAreCowboys

* The only American character seen in the ''Ride/ItsASmallWorld'' ride at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks (not counting a lone Eskimo) for some reason actually dresses up in stereotypical cowboy garb that is found only in the last part of the ride.

* ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'' ramps it up further with Kinji Takigawa aka [=StarNinger=], who not only wears a cowboy outfit when unmorphed but his ''Ranger form'' has a built-in cowboy hat and poncho ''and'' his mecha is modeled on a bison ([[ButNotTooBlack but he's still played by a Japanese actor]]}. His [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel American counterpart]] Levi was made a country-western singer in order to justify the outfit.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* AmericansAreCowboys/AnimeAndManga

* Invoked in ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou''. Girlfriend #13, the protagonist's teacher Nadeshiko Yamato, is a [[InvertedTrope reverse]] OccidentalOtaku (i.e. ethnically Japanese but pretending to be an American) who calls herself "Naddy" and wears cowboy getup almost all the time. Some English translations also give her a southern US accent.
* Fumio's grandfather in ''Manga/SaitamaChainsawShoujo'' was a Texan bounty-hunter who wears a cowboy hat and frilled buckskin vest.
* In ''Manga/MidoriDays'', when Lucy's friend Daniel shows up to try and bring her back to America, he's dressed in...well, typical cowboy attire.
* [[http://keroro.wikia.com/wiki/Melody_Honey Melody Honey,]] a reoccuring character in both ''Manga/ArcadeGamerFubuki'' and ''Manga/SgtFrog'', is [[GorgeousGaijin a busty blonde model/pop idol/pro gamer]] who usually dresses in a skimpy cow-girl outfit.
* Jack King and the Texas Mack from ''Manga/GetterRobo''. Also his tribute in ''Anime/{{Gekiganger 3}}'', Cowboy Johnny and the Texas Robo.
* Cathy in ''Anime/RahXephon''.
* Reina Gorn in ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService'' is a scientist from the United States who is almost always seen wearing a cowboy hat.
* Terryman and Terry the Kid from ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' and ''Anime/UltimateMuscle''. They're also from Texas, and specialize in appropriately-flavored moves, like the Calf Branding.
** Terryman himself is based on legendary professional wrestler (and Texan) [[http://www.prowrestlingmidatlantic.com/terry_funk_op_471x6001.jpg Terry Funk,]] who did actually dress in a cowboy hat and a poncho for years, making this a JustifiedTrope in his case.
** Averted with Specialman (a gridiron football player) and Pentagon (a masked luchadore, but one with eagle wings).
* In ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', America's Gundam Maxter is a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Boxer Surfer Football Player Cowboy]]. In the reimagined ''Choukyuu! G Gundam'' manga, its MidSeasonUpgrade Max Revolver ditches all those motifs except for the Cowboy one.
* Jackie Gudelhian from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula''. He wears a cowboy hat, likes rodeo riding and he's from Kentucky. He is even nicknamed the "High-tech Cowboy''.
* A character from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' who shows up only briefly via video link is a computer programmer and friend of the 'Monster Makers' who originally coded the Digimon is [[PhenotypeStereotype blond]] and wears a stetson. The dub even adds a [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents Texan drawl]] to him.
* Averted with America in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. The one time he does dress up as a cowboy, it's justified as other characters dress up in national costumes as well.
* The American Pretty Cure in ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'' are cowgirls (except the one who is a Native American).
* UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis from the ''Characters/SegaHardGirls'' franchise provides the trope image. As the Sega Mega Drive was released in the U.S. as the [[MarketBasedTitle Sega Genesis]] and both consoles are represented by separate characters in the series, "Genny" (pronounced "Jennie") is a transfer student who comes to Japan after having studied in the U.S. Being the American console, [[SarcasmMode naturally]] she wears cowboy attire from head-to-toe along with a bandana halter top with the design of the American flag on it, with shades of black from the console she's based off of. She also has a loud, rude but charismatic personality, based on the console's aggressive marketing campaign in the U.S.
* Usually averted in ''Manga/CaseClosed''. There are several types of Americans in that series, ranging from blondes to black-haired American or dark-skinned or black people. However, there was one time where Conan distinguishes the Brittish James Black from a similar looking Texas-native American (portrayed with a cowboy hat) through their different accents. Said American had a strong Southern accent.
* Averted in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''. Autozam represents the United States of America. Yet none of the characters from Autozam are cowboys. Some do wear green berets. And their leader is styled to resemble a bald eagle.
* Averted in ''Manga/BlueExorcist''. Lightning (a Texan no less!) is the first explicitly American character to appear, but he doesn't look or act like a cowboy. He does sometimes wear a poncho, but thats about it.
* Colt, one of the four principle characters in ''Anime/SaberRiderAndTheStarSheriffs'' is a hotshot pilot, and an American. You can tell he's American by his cowboy hat.
* JACK in ''Literature/CatPlanetCuties'' is a character meant to be an American stereotype, that includes being a cowboy. She wears a cowboy hat, [[{{Stripperific}} wears almost nothing]], is often seen eating [[FastFoodNation fast food]], and drives a [[CoolCar Corvette Stingray]].
* In the ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'' episode where they travel to New York City, Speedy's American counterpart is named "The Sundance Kid" and is dressed like ''[[Creator/ClintEastwood Clint Eastwoods's]]'' famous "The Man With No Name" character, who wore a cowboy hat with a poncho. Although his combat uniform is a baseball player he still retains elements of this because he uses twin revolvers as his weapon of choice.
* ''Anime/VoltesV'': When Ippei Mine was a young boy, his family immigrated from Japan to America. He spent most of his life in California where he became a famous rodeo star, winning several awards with his [[AnimalCompanion horse]], [[ABoyAndHisX Eiffel]]. It was because of this that Ippei was selected[[note]]Forcibly kidnapped from California to Japan and forced to undergo rigorius training for a year[[/note]] to become one of the five pilots of [[CombiningMecha Voltes V]]. Ippei also dons a cowboy hat and a whip in some episodes, and generally has a crude, abrasive, hot-blooded attitude in contrast to his ImpliedLoveInterest, [[YamatoNadeshiko Megumi]].
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* The German BigBad of the first ''Film/DieHard'' film mocks John [=McClane=] as being a "cowboy" several times throughout the movie, hence [=McClane=]'s "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" CatchPhrase.

* Invoked in ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou''. One girlfriend, the protagonist's teacher Yamato Nadeshiko, is ethnically Japanese, but she pretends to be an American who calls herself "Naddy" and wears cowboy getup whenever she's not teaching. Some English translations also give her a southern accent.

* JACK in ''LightNovel/CatPlanetCuties'' is a character meant to be an American stereotype, that includes being a cowboy. She wears a cowboy hat, [[{{Stripperific}} wears almost nothing]], is often seen eating [[FastFoodNation fast food]], and drives a [[CoolCar Corvette Stingray]].

Americans who tend to [[WeAllLiveInAmerica forget that the rest of the world exists]] often, when they remember, stereotype everyone else by their headgear. They will indicate that a character is [[SombreroEqualsMexican Mexican by simply slapping a sombrero on their head]], giving a Russian character an ushanka, a French one a beret, a Brit a bowler hat, an Irish a green top hat, an East or Southeast Asian a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats rice hat]], a South Asian or Middle Easterner a turban, and a Native American either a feathered headband or full-on feathered headdress. So what, one might wonder, is the stereotypical hat that ''other'' countries associate with ''America''? Well as it turns out, a cowboy hat.

* Played with and ultimately subverted in the case of Robert Tendyke in the German horror-fantasy-occasionally-SF series ''Literature/ProfessorZamorra''. The man ''owns'' a US-based {{megacorp}} (one that's usually depicted as at least reasonably ethical at that), is fond of dressing like a cowboy to the point of cliche, [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob still has more than enough time to spare]] to play quasi-professional 'adventurer' even when he's ''not'' already involved in the latest case of the title character...and eventually turns out to have been born some four centuries ago as the long-estranged son of the demon Asmodis and an unfortunate Roma woman of very European extraction. The "cowboy" act is just a deliberate part of his modern-day identity.

* Hank from ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', due to him being built in the United States instead of England like most of the other locomotives, speaks in a Texan accent. Th real locomotive class he was based on was from Pennsylvania.

* Hank from ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', due to him being built in the United States instead of England like all of the other locomotives, actually speaks in a Texas accent. The only other locomotive that is not British is Hiro, the Japanese locomotive.

* [[http://keroro.wikia.com/wiki/Melody_Honey Melody Honey]], a reoccuring character in both ''Manga/ArcadeGamerFubuki'' and ''Manga/SgtFrog'', is [[GorgeousGaijin a busty blonde model/pop idol/pro gamer]] who usually dresses in a skimpy cow-girl outfit.

* Reina Gorn in ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService'' is a HotScientist from the United States who is almost always seen wearing a cowboy hat.

* When [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the American astronauts destroy the Russian MIR station]] in ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'', [[RussianGuySuffersMost the Russian cosmonaut complains]] that [[DontTouchItYouIdiot he told them not to touch anything]], "but you're bunch of cowboys!"

This is a case of SmallReferencePools, where America has become so synonymous with cowboy culture that people overseas use it to characterize the entire country. This is, of course, partially TruthInTelevision: TheWestern is a distinctly American genre (unless it's a CanadianWestern), and a lot of stereotypical cowboy traits are also stereotypes of Americans as a whole. Plus, cowboy fashion and culture ''is'' still idealized in certain parts of America, particularly in rural areas (especially in western states), and in CountryMusic. In fact, Americans from these regions are frequently stereotyped this way by ''other'' Americans; what this trope categorizes as a stereotypical American would, for example, be recognized by most actual Americans specifically as a stereotypical Texan or more broadly as a stereotypical [[DeepSouth southerner]].

* UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush both maintained a cowboy image, having plenty of photo-ops in cowboy hats and acting like ranch guys. While neither one ever really worked with cattle, Reagan [[ButIPlayOneOnTV had acted in Westerns]], was quite fond of horseback riding, owned a horse named El-Alamein (likely after the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII battle), and later became something of an AscendedFanboy of the Western genre, buying and maintaining a working horse ranch where he cleared brush and chopped firewood himself. Bush, meanwhile, had been governor of Texas, the state most identified with cowboy imagery, and also owned a (non-working) ranch outside of Waco that, during his Presidency, almost acted as a second Camp David (it was nicknamed the "Western White House"). In his post presidency Bush (who had been born in Connecticut) sold his ranch. Make of that what you will.

* There's also a second layer to this trope: In America, every white person west of the Mississippi is stereotyped as a cowboy, unless they live on the West Coast. And we do literally mean "the Coast" -- inland California and eastern Oregon and Washington are as steeped in this trope as Arizona and Montana. The "Bakersfield sound" in CountryMusic is a prime example, having been created in the '60s by the descendants of Dust Bowl migrants to California's Central Valley. And even in the eastern US, you'll find some appropriation of cowboy iconography in the rural areas, especially in the South.

* JACK in ''LightNovel/CatPlanetCuties'' is a character meant to be an American stereotype, that includes being a cowboy. She wears a [[NiceHat cowboy hat]], [[{{Stripperific}} wears almost nothing]], is often seen eating [[FastFoodNation fast food]], and drives a [[CoolCar Corvette Stingray]].

* Sky is under this impression in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. Justified in that she is [[YoungerThanTheyLook younger than she looks]] and has been watching ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''.

* ConversationalTroping between Literature/TommyAndTuppence in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Partners In Crime'', where Tuppence is describing her fantasy of meeting a dashing romantic American man who has lived in the wilds and can rope wild steer, and Tommy sarcastically asks if he's also wearing chaps and a ten-gallon hat.

Americans who tend to [[WeAllLiveInAmerica forget that the rest of the world exists]] often, when they remember, stereotype everyone else by their headgear. They will indicate that a character is Mexican by simply slapping a sombrero on their head, giving a Russian character an ushanka, a French one a beret, a Brit a bowler hat, an Irish a green top hat, an East or Southeast Asian a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats rice hat]], a South Asian or Middle Easterner a turban, and a Native American either a feathered headband or full-on feathered headdress. So what, one might wonder, is the stereotypical hat that ''other'' countries associate with ''America''? Well as it turns out, a cowboy hat.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'': As Unova is based off America, male Pokémon Rangers are this. Clay, however, is a subversion and a {{Fauxreigner}}.
* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' play this straight; Aarune is dressed and speaks like a stereotypical cowboy despite hailing from the equivalent of the New York/New Jersey area.

--->'''Hanna''': I don't believe it! The goddamn cowboy's President!

This is a case of SmallReferencePools, where America has become so synonymous with cowboy culture that people overseas use it to characterize the entire country. This is, of course, partially TruthInTelevision: TheWestern is a distinctly American genre, and a lot of stereotypical cowboy traits are also stereotypes of Americans as a whole. Plus, cowboy fashion and culture ''is'' still idealized in certain parts of America, particularly in rural areas (especially in western states), and in CountryMusic. In fact, Americans from these regions are frequently stereotyped this way by ''other'' Americans; what this trope categorizes as a stereotypical American would, for example, be recognized by most actual Americans specifically as a stereotypical Texan or more broadly as a stereotypical [[DeepSouth southerner]].

This is a case of SmallReferencePools, where America has become so synonymous with cowboy culture that people overseas use it to characterize the entire country. This is, of course, partially TruthInTelevision: TheWestern is a distinctly American genre, and a lot of stereotypical cowboy traits are also stereotypes of Americans as a whole. Plus, cowboy fashion and culture ''is'' still idealized in certain parts of America, particularly in rural areas (especially in western states), and in CountryMusic. In fact, Americans from these regions are frequently stereotyped this way by ''other'' Americans; what this trope categorizes as a "stereotypical American" would, for example, be recognized by most actual Americans either specifically as a "stereotypical Texan," or more broadly, a "Stereotypical southerner."

Americans who tend to [[WeAllLiveInAmerica forget that the rest of the world exists]] often, when they remember, stereotype everyone else by their headgear. They will indicate that a character is Mexican by simply slapping a sombrero on their head, giving a Russian character an ushanka, a French one a beret, a Brit a bowler hat, a Chinese a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats rice hat,]] an Irish a green top hat, a South Asian or Middle Easterner a turban, and a Native American either a feathered headband or full-on feathered headdress. So what, one might wonder, is the stereotypical hat that ''other'' countries associate with ''America''? Well as it turns out, a cowboy hat.

Americans who tend to [[WeAllLiveInAmerica forget that the rest of the world exists]] often, when they remember, stereotype everyone else by their headgear. They will indicate that a character is Mexican by simply slapping a sombrero on their head, giving a Russian character an ushanka, a French one a beret, a Brit a bowler hat, a Chinese a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats rice hat,]] an Irish a green top hat, an Indian a turban (though sometimes this headgear is mistakenly given to the Middle-Easterner instead), and a Native American either a feathered headband or full-on feathered headdress. So what, one might wonder, is the stereotypical hat that ''other'' countries associate with ''America''? Well as it turns out, a cowboy hat.

* The Frontier Thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner explained the uniqueness American Culture (democracy, individualism, optimism, comfort with violence) as being created by Westward Expansion. His idea being that the first few centuries of American Society were defined by a continual push against the wilderness, with frontier people having to rely on each other for day-to-day survival, but gaining wealth as individuals once the area was secure (which always came eventually). Turner's influence on the study of U.S. history was massive, and his popularity helped establish the cowyboy as representing the differences between the U.S. and other Anglosphere countries (or Europe).