..and if my memory serves me, the 'cowboy' was a hustler....looking for rich women to buy his 'wares'....and only resorted to male hustling when he was desperate...
..It was never portrayed as something romantic or all consuming...
..it was portrayed as ugly, evil, sick and the 'cowboy' was disgusted with himself.
" . . . it was portrayed as ugly, evil, sick and the 'cowboy' was disgusted with himself."
I also remember MIDNIGHT COWBOY (& enjoyed it, actually).
The movies in the 60s & 70s became more open in their portrayal of sexuality. However, they differed from current films in that they had a moral voice. MIDNIGHT COWBOY showed the decline & degradation of the character played by Jon Voight. Homosexuality, which he had to resort to in order to survive, was still considered a perversion back then.
Nowadays, homosexuality is sanctioned. The films today are amoral, if not left-wing. I can't think of any I want to see.