A "friend of Dorothy" (FOD) is acode word for agay man, first used inLGBTQ slang.[1] Stating that, or asking if, someone is afriend of Dorothy is a furtive way of suggestingsexual orientation while avoiding hostility.[2] The term was likely based on the characterDorothy Gale of theOz series of novels, which have been interpreted as including much queersubtext. ActressJudy Garland, who portrayed Dorothy inthe 1939Wizard of Oz film, is considereda gay icon. Writer and criticDorothy Parker is thought to be another potential origin of the term. The "friend of Dorothy" code word was commonly used throughout the 20th century, but its use has declined in recent decades as LGBT acceptance has advanced.[citation needed]
The precise origin of the term is unknown. Some believe that it is derived fromThe Road to Oz (1909), a sequel to the first Oz novel,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). The book introduces readers toPolychrome, who, upon meeting Dorothy's travelling companions, exclaims, "You have some queer friends, Dorothy." Dorothy replies, "The queerness doesn't matter, so long as they're friends."[3] There are numerous references to LGBTQ characters and relationships,[4] including a possible innuendo aboutbisexuality – when Dorothy asksScarecrow which way to go on theyellow brick road, he says, "Of course some people go both ways"[5] – although it is unknown whether these references were intentional.[6] For instance, in a case that may be seen as changinggender identity, or beingtransgender,[7]Ozma, the daughter of the former KingPastoria of Oz, was given as an infant to the witchMombi of the North by theWizard of Oz. Mombi transformed Ozma into a boy and called him "Tip" (short for Tippetarius) in order to prevent the rightful ruler of Oz from ascending to the throne.[8] Thus, Ozma spent her entire childhood withMombi in the form of the boy Tip, and had no memory of ever having been a girl.[6] Later, Princess Ozma would be the ruler of the fictional land of Oz. Princess Ozma has been referred to as “one of the firsttransgender characters in literature."[9] This storyline was revived in the TV showEmerald City (2017).[8]
More commonly, it is stated that "friend of Dorothy" refers to the 1939 film adaptationThe Wizard of Oz becauseJudy Garland, who starred as the main character Dorothy,is a gay icon.[10][11]The Wizard of Oz has a "particular resonance in the culture of the queer community".[12] The struggles faced byDorothy,Toto, and friends, especially against theWicked Witch of the West and herflying monkeys, canmetaphorically mirror the difficulties ofcoming out.[12] How this group of outcasts works together likewise mirrors LGBTQ people who create new chosen families.[12] Researchers also note the film is absent of a heteronormative male–female romance, and Dorothy and her friends "do not need to change themselves to become who they want to be".[13] Many see Garland's portrayal as a "queer journey, an escape from thepuritanical, morally rigid, black-and-white small-town life to Technicolor city existence with fabulous friends".[14][15]
Additionally relevant is the classic song "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow" that Dorothy (Judy Garland) sings, which was possibly "the most memorable performance" of Garland's career, and the song "contributed to the evolution of therainbow flag as a gay icon".[16] The song "act[ed] as a cultural catalyst, propelling the eventual embrace of the rainbow symbol by the world's LGBTQ communities".[16]Time magazine, in its August 18, 1967, review of Garland's final engagement at New York'sPalace Theatre, observed: "A disproportionate part of her nightly claque seems to be homosexual. The boys in the tight trousers roll their eyes, tear at their hair and practically levitate from their seats, particularly when Judy sings ['Over the Rainbow']."[15][17]
LGBTQ people could also empathize withJudy Garland's struggles in personal life.[18][19] Garland's problems — "the drinking and divorcing, all the pills and all the men, all the poundage come and gone" — were documented in the media.[19] She was among the first stars to have her "dirty laundry" aired publicly.[14] She was the "archetype of the triumphant/tragicdiva, paving the way for the stormy trajectories of superstarsElizabeth Taylor,Whitney Houston,Amy Winehouse, andLindsay Lohan".[14] BiographerGerald Clarke thinks she was likelybipolar, "explaining her many suicide attempts and use of alcohol and pills to self-medicate."[14] Her mental health problems were likely related to childhood trauma,[20][21] possibly untreated complex PTSD,[citation needed] a common shared experience with LGBTQ+ people.[22] In the face of these challenges she pressed forward, "explaining her enduring popularity among LGBTQ fans".[14] She also endured "self-doubts about her capabilities, suffered crippling stage fright", yet beamed on stage.[14] Onstage "she 'came out', expressing through her skills the real person she was meant to be".[14] LGBTQ people noticed this, "admiring her courage and resilience, adopting it as their own".[14] One psychiatrist's explanation: "Judy was beaten up by life, embattled and ultimately had to become more masculine. She has the power that homosexuals would like to have, and they attempt to attain it by idolizing her."[15][17]
Gay men, particularly older ones, were among her biggest fans:
"One could mistake the front rows in audiences of her live concerts for a meeting of theMattachine Society. A Garland event was a pre-Stonewall means of encountering other gay men."[14]
According toUnited Press International's Marilyn Malara, "In the 1950s and 1960s, Garland acted as an unofficial mascot for a generation of gay men, who flocked to Garland's many performances, referring to themselves as 'friends of Dorothy.'"[16]
In September 2019, in reporting on the resurgence of interest in Garland due to the biopicJudy starringRenée Zellweger, Louis Staples analyzed Garland's story, to "understand how and why some gay men look to famous women to help them navigate the world."[23] Both Dorothy and Garland were taken from ordinary lives into the spectacular, and LGBTQ people perceiving themselves as abnormal, different, or "other" could relate to not being ordinary.[23] Once in the Hollywood movie business, Garland's body faced criticism for never being sexy enough, or slim enough; LGBTQ people can relate to dealing with "body dysmorphia, harm[ing] their bodies, attempt[ing] suicide and suffer from eating disorders."[23] After her artistic success in the commercial failureA Star Is Born (1954), Richard Dyer argues that "Garland's work and life tells a story of survival, and of someone trying to assert some form of control in a world that was set up to destroy her."[23]
Garland also had a number of gay men in her life, including her father Frank Gumm, who "preferred the company of very young men".[19] There was speculation for years in the entertainment community that her second husbandVincente Minnelli wasgay orbisexual.[24][25][26] A biography,Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer, claims he lived as an openly gay man in New York prior to his arrival inHollywood, where the town pressured him back intothe closet.[27] According to the biographer: "He was openly gay in New York – we were able to document names of companions and stories fromDorothy Parker. But when he came to Hollywood, I think he made the decision to repress that part of himself or to become bisexual."[28][29] Garland's fourth husband,Mark Herron, was gay and in a long-lasting relationship with fellow actorHenry Brandon, which was only briefly interrupted by his marriage to Garland.[30] The two men remained together until Brandon's death in 1990. Garland's daughterLiza Minnelli's first husband,Peter Allen, was discovered by Herron while Allen was performing in Hong Kong. Garland took the act, the Allen Brothers, under her care, becoming their manager and booking agent, and had them open her concerts in Britain and the United States.[31] Garland also introduced Allen to her daughter, but Allen was having affairs with men before the marriage;[31] he latercame out as gay.[32]
Garland died on June 22, 1969, and her funeral was held in New York City days before theStonewall riots, the spark that started the modernLGBTQ rights movement. However, the riots were spontaneous and not related to her death.[a]
Predating Oz-related origins of the phrase (both the film and the L. Frank Baum novels) wasNew York City's celebrated humorist, critic and "defender of human and civil rights"Dorothy Parker, whose social circles in the 1920s and 1930s included gay men.[36][37] The two origin stories are not mutually exclusive; both could be somewhat true depending on how one learned of the phrase, or even multiple origins in different communities.[38][39][40]Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933, when social alcohol consumption was generally illegal, prompted many illegal activities to circumvent the ban,[41] includingspeakeasies during theRoaring Twenties, also known as theJazz Age.[42] The socialite would throw "famous parties atGarden of Allah's lavish celebrity villas".[43][44] She would invite gay men, who would in turn invite other gay men to her gatherings using the code phrase "friend of Dorothy" to gain entry.[45] Parker had many gay fans, and was well known for her quickwit and use ofsarcasm as well associal activism.
Official bans ongays serving in the military first surfaced in the early 20th century. The U.S. introduced a ban in a revision of theArticles of War of 1916 and the UK first prohibited homosexuality in theArmy and Air Force Acts in 1955.[46] DuringWorld War II (1940s) many U.S. and British servicemen started meeting and forming friendships while serving in Europe. In conversation and in letter writing, phrases like "simply divine", "fabulous" and "nelly" began to be used by men, who later brought its use back to the United States. By the 1960s and onward the social stigma of being gay was slowly lifting, including theStonewall Riots in 1969 which launched the modernLGBTQ rights movement, and the phrase was no longer needed as much.[47]
Starting in the late 1980s, on severalcruise lines, gay and lesbian passengers began approaching ship staff, asking them to publicise gatherings in the daily cruise activity list.[48] As the cruise lines were hesitant to announce such things so blatantly in their daily publications, they would list the gathering as a "Meeting of the Friends of Dorothy".[49] This use of the phrase likely comes from cruise directors who were also familiar with the phrase "Friends of Bill W." and using it in their programs to tell members ofAlcoholics Anonymous that there were support group meetings on the trip.
In recent years the use of "Meeting of the Friends of Dorothy" on cruise ships has largely been replaced by more obvious titles such as "LGBTQ Gathering/Meetup", or "PRIDE Gathering/Meetup".[citation needed] Such meetings have expanded in popularity and frequency over the years. Now, many cruise lines will have multiple LGBTQ gathering events, sometimes as many as one each night.[50] Despite this, many such meetings have low turnout rates.[48]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, theNaval Investigative Service (NIS), the predecessor to the modern-dayNaval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was investigating homosexuality in theChicago area. Agents discovered that gay men sometimes referred to themselves as "friends of Dorothy". Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that there actuallywas a woman named Dorothy at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel, so they launched an enormous and futile hunt for the elusive "Dorothy", hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay service members.[51]
Similar to "friend of Dorothy" is "friend of Mrs. King" (i.e.,queen, in the meaning of "gay man"). This was used in England, mostly in the first half of the 20th century.[52]
With the premiere and popularity of the musicalWicked, the character ofElphaba and the musical itself has been seen asqueer-coded for its themes of otherness and reclamation.[53] The song"Defying Gravity" is also considered an LGBTQ anthem in a similar way to "Over the Rainbow". Each of these factors led the production to coin the term "Friend of Elphaba" in reference to the historical "friend of Dorothy", as part of theirPride Month marketing.[54]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Its etymology traces back to Dorothy Parker, screenwriter and Vanity Fair critic. To keep the proceedings lively, Dorothy notoriously invited gays galore to Jazz Age social gatherings, and many of them told friends. During Prohibition, guys whose names weren't on the guest list crashed the gate as "friends of Dorothy," an idiom among Manhattan socialites referring to any unfamiliar character. To gays, a rendezvous with a "friend of Dorothy" meant a gay acquaintance in relative safety, in the era before Judy Garland's funeral sparked the Stonewall riots.
