Why is wizard of oz gay
Why is the show "The Wizard of Oz" stereotypically associated with queer male culture?
Derleth1
(I understand that this might finish up in IMHO. We’ll cross that rainbow when we come to it.)
“The Wizard of Oz” is the single movie most associated with the same-sex attracted male culture in this country. Movies (viz. My Fellow Americans) make jokes based on that reality. Being a straight guy myself, this has always made me wonder. There is a stereotype that gay males like Judy Garland*, but that doesn’t make much sense to me, either. What is the history behind these associations?
*(Uh, not in That Way, obviously.)
jimbeam2
Apparently there’s plenty of metaphors in the movie and the musical and the sequel to the book. In the sequel, the main personality “Tip” IIRC transforms endorse and forth from organism male to female and back again. The musical speaks for itself… just watch it. Then there’s the rainbow which is associated with the coalition or whatever. Of course Judy goes without saying and then the three amigos when they find to Oz make claim to be FOD “Friends of Dorothy”. Another group of words among the gay society from what I realize. I am not lgbtq+ myself but there seems to be some
Over the Rainbow: The Male lover Male Obsession with The Wizard of Oz
Early on, during my first initial days within the queer culture of San Francisco, I was bemused by the near reverential treatment paid to the motion picture “The Wizard of Oz.” Yet, thinking back to my own oftentimes lonely and confusing childhood, I did remember the show as a welcoming respite from the anxiety of growing up as a hurt boy addicted to porn and consequently thoroughly mess-up in terms of his own sexuality. For, the image of a place “Over the Rainbow,” where troubles did not exist and “And the dreams that you dare to dream really execute come true…” was the perfect and unimaginably lovely ideal.
Every year, usually around Christmastime, The Castro Theater would have a extraordinary screening of Oz. It was a high blessed day for gay men in San Francisco. Many attendees arrived in costume; as their favorite characters: the most plentiful existence Glinda drag queens. The atmosphere around the theater was one of a religious procession; it all seemed like harmless fun; but, as with all public spectacles in queer culture – beyond the revelry was always a pervasively tragic overtone. At the time, for myself, it was the second
Nobody seems to know quite how or why “The Wizard of Oz” became such an enduring part of LGBT community and culture.
It is, of course, common knowledge that Judy Garland is a homosexual icon — beloved and worshiped by gay men of a certain age and class — but what else explains the ubiquitous references to “Oz” in drag performances and in the names of bars and businesses catering to the community? Film quotes appear on an array of LGBT-themed merchandise, from postcards of Dorothy enticing us to see San Francisco to Glinda T-shirts impelling us to “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
It would be a mistake to confine a discussion of “The Wizard of Oz” to a certain class of gay men, but in seeking a signal of origin, there is a dominant narrative of queer history in which “Oz” and Garland were important parts of a mostly white, middle-class, urban gay male subculture by the 1950s. Garland spent much of the decade on popular concert tours, and it was also during this time that “The Wizard of Oz” began to be shown on television on an annual basis. The inception of the expression “Friend of Dorothy,” which became a code phrase used by gay men to identify themselves to each other, is lost
How did this classic film become linked with the LGBTQ2S+ community?
There are many reasons why the 1939 film, The Wizard of Ozhas grown into an LGBTQ2S+ main - stay over the years. It could be the various camp elements in the film, the continued endorsement from gay icons love RuPaul Charles, or just the inclusion of Judy Garland, who in and of herself has become a lgbtq+ icon due to her performance ability, personal struggles, and camp tendencies.
Regardless of the reason, The Wizard of Ozis both a masterpiece of filmmaking and a celebrated LGBTQ2S+ fixture.
The central word of the clip is finding your heart’s true need. Dorothy Gale, played by a 17-yearold Judy Garland, yearns for a existence beyond her petty Kansas town. However, after discovering a mystical world beyond her wildest imagination, she realizes that her home, family and friends are all she really needs.
The classic storytelling tool of needs vs. wants is very much at play here. Dorothy wants adventure, but she needs her family. For many, the film represents a need to love what you have, and discover meaning in the things that matter most.
This same core message of self-suffic
Before we get to this week’s episode, I have a question for you. And that ask is … perform you have any questions for me? I ask because we’re coming up on the 500th episode of The Sewers of Paris next month, and to celebrate I’m going to be doing a exceptional Q&A episode where I answer questions from listeners. So if you possess anything you’d enjoy to ask — whether it’s about the show, or for recommendations, or about pop customs and queer history — please forward it along to at matt@mattbaume.com.
Also, a head’s up that may be of interest: This week sees the discharge of Part 1 of Wicked — a musical inspired by The Wizard of Oz. And although, when I initially heard about the film, years ago, my first reaction was “oh, there’s no way that’ll be any good” … folks, I’ve seen it, and it is, in fact, very good. So to mark the movie’s release, I’m releasing special episode of my companion podcast, Matt’s So-Cast Pod, where we converse about the strange parallels between the musical Wicked and the TV entertainment My So-Called Life — both written by the identical woman, Winnie Holzman.
And also, on this week’s Sewers of Paris, we’re diving deep into the archives for a chat about why The Wizar