In gay slang, a "friend of Dorothy" (occasionally abbreviated FOD) is a term for a gay man.[1] The phrase dates back to at least World War II, when homosexual acts were illegal in the United States. Stating that, or asking if, someone was a "friend of Dorothy" was a euphemism used for discussing sexual orientation without others knowing its meaning. The origin of the term is unknown and there are various theories.[2] A similar term "friend of Mrs King" (ie Queen) was used in England, mostly in the first half of the 20th century.[3]
Most commonly it is stated that "friend of Dorothy" refers to the film The Wizard of Oz because Judy Garland, who starred as the main character Dorothy, is a gay icon. In the film, Dorothy is accepting of those who are different. For example the "gentle lion" living a lie, "I'm afraid there's no denyin', I'm just a dandy lion."[4][5]
Others claim that the phrase refers to celebrated humorist and critic Dorothy Parker, who included some gay men in her famous social circle.
In the early 1980s, the Naval Investigative Service was investigating homosexuality in the Chicago 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 a woman named Dorothy was at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel. The NIS launched an enormous hunt for Dorothy, hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay servicemembers.[6]
In the second Oz book by Frank L. Baum, the Scarecrow, now the ruler of Oz goes on a quest to discover the fate of the child of the last Emperor of OZ, the lost princess Ozma. While questioning the witch who supposedly spirited the child away he and his companions rescue her servant boy, Tip. At the end of the book Tip is revealed to actually be Ozma and is magically transformed back into the girl she was supposed to be(a resonant chord for drag queens and effemiate gay men everywhere). In later books Dorothy returns to Oz and Ozma becomes "a friend of Dorothy".
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Current usage
Starting in the late 1980s, on several cruise lines, gay passengers began approaching ship staff, asking them to publicise gatherings in the daily cruise activity list. 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". Such meetings have expanded in popularity and frequency over the years. Now, many cruise lines will have multiple "FOD" events, sometimes as many as one each night.
See also
References
- ^ Leap, William; Tom Boellstorff (2003). Speaking in Queer Tongues: Globilization and Gay Language. University of Illinois Press. p. 98. ISBN 0252071425.
- ^ Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime, By Donald F. Reuter
- ^ New York Times
- ^ Brantley, Ben; New York Times: Jun 28, 1994. pg. C.15.
- ^ Paglia, Camille. Judy Garland As a Force Of Nature; New York Times: Jun 14, 1998.
- ^ Shilts, Randy (1993). Conduct Unbecoming: Gays & Lesbians in the U.S. Military. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. p. 387.
Further reading
- Chauncey, George (1994). Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Makings of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. New York: Basic Books.
- Duberman, Martin (1993). Stonewall. New York: Dutton. Lesbian and gay life before and after Stonewall, as seen by six contemporaries.
- Duberman, Martin, Martha Vicinus, and George Chauncey, Jr. (eds) (1989). Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. New York: NAL Books. Twenty-nine essays covering aspects of the gay and lesbian world from ancient to contemporary times.
- Grahn, Judy (1990). Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds. Boston: Beacon Press. Explores the use of language to define gay and lesbian culture by examining stereotypes as access points into history.
- Katz, Jonathan (1992). Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A.: a Documentary History. Rev. Ed. New York: Meridian.
- Marcus, Eric (1992). Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990: An Oral History. New York: HarperCollins.
External links
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