Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in Kinshasa

"An innovative and original study that sheds light on masculinity, youth culture, performative violence, and the circuit of global imagery." —Stephan F. Miescher, author of Making Men in Ghana

During the 1950s and 60s in the Congo city of Kinshasa, there emerged young urban male gangs known as "Bills" or "Yankees." Modeling themselves on the images of the iconic American cowboy from Hollywood film, the Bills sought to negotiate lives lived under oppressive economic, social, and political co...