The endurg (gay?) appeal of 'The Wizard of Oz': Mister of Culture

Contents:

• M/M GAY ROMANCE WH WCH OR MAGIC
• I’M A GAY WIZARD (GAY WIZARD #1)
• WHAT GAVE RISE TO A GENERATN OF GAYMERS? WE BLAME ‘THE WIZARD’
• OVER THE RABOW: THE GAY MALE OBSSN WH THE WIZARD OF OZ
• THE ENDURG (GAY?) APPEAL OF 'THE WIZARD OF OZ': MISTER OF CULTURE
• WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?
• ‘FRIENDS OF DOROTHY’: HOW JUDY GARLAND BEME A GAY IN
• SEVEN CLU THAT ‘POTTER’S’ DUMBLEDORE WAS GAY
• DANIEL RADCLIFFE: OM BOY WIZARD TO GAY BEAT POET
• J.K. ROWLG THROWS DOWN “GAY WIZARD” AND “EPIC FAIL” AT HARVARD 2008
• WHAT IS GAY WIZARD?
• I'M A GAY WIZARD
• THUNR WAIVE RUDY GAY, VETERAN BE FREE AGENT

M/M GAY ROMANCE WH WCH OR MAGIC

It's based on the novel by gay thor Gregory Maguire, who's wrten several other books about the Oz while many of will always go over the rabow wh Judy Garland, 's clear there will be plenty of other yellow brick roads leadg to Oz. 14Wattpad Books I'm a Gay Wizard14Wattpad Books I'm a Gay WizardThis book—the first a seri—follows two bt iends, Johnny, who is gay, and Alison, who is trans. 15Sourcebooks Fire Reverie15Sourcebooks Fire ReverieNow 47% OffCalled "joyoly, rtoly queer" by Kirk, Reverie follows a young gay man named Kane who wak up whout his memory and disvers magic.

I’M A GAY WIZARD (GAY WIZARD #1)

It is, of urse, mon knowledge that Judy Garland is a gay in — beloved and worshiped by gay men of a certa age and class — but what else explas the ubiquo referenc to “Oz” drag performanc and the nam of bars and bs terg to the muny? It would be a mistake to nfe a discsn of The Wizard of Oz to a certa class of gay men, but seekg a pot of orig, there is a domant narrative of queer history which “Oz” and Garland were important parts of a mostly whe, middle-class, urban gay male subculture by the 1950s.

The orig of the exprsn “Friend of Dorothy, ” which beme a phrase ed by gay men to intify themselv to each other, is lost to history — may have predated this era, and may not even refer to Garland’s role the movie, but the belief that do is wispread (another possibily is that refers to Dorothy Parker, who was also a iend to gays). Acrdg to “Oz” scholar Dee Michel, who is wrg a book on “Oz” and gay men, there are certa beliefs about the film and the LGBT muny that persist spe of a lack of clear historil evince. Other prt referenc to “Oz” as an unrground culture shared by gay men seem to show up the 1970s and ’80s, lookg back and attemptg to expla the appeal of the film.

WHAT GAVE RISE TO A GENERATN OF GAYMERS? WE BLAME ‘THE WIZARD’

The explanatns often take the form of an intifitn of gay men and others wh a girl om a small muny who is misunrstood by her fay, who is whisked away to a place where she be iends wh characters who seem like they uld be gay men (pecially the Cowardly Ln, who refers to himself as a “sissy” and “dandy ln”). The story beme a metaphor for the real-life dreams and experienc of gay men who left middle Ameri for the gay muni of New York Cy and San Francis, which were analogized to Oz or the Emerald Cy.

Garland’s stggl seemed to mirror those of gay men at the time, and she was admired for risg above her problems performance, although as she noted herself, she was never able to get over the rabow her life off the stage or screen.

Neverthels, gay folklore and film ntue to tell the story, que possibly imposg the perspective of whe, cisgenr gay male historians on an event that was largely the work of queer and trans people of lor.

OVER THE RABOW: THE GAY MALE OBSSN WH THE WIZARD OF OZ

Ten years later, at the 1979 March on Washgton, acrdg to Michael Bronski, lbian sger Holly Near end her set wh Over the Rabow, llg the gay natnal anthem. The Wiz, a Broadway mil produced by a black gay man and adapted as a film starrg Diana Ross, occupi an important place both black and gay culture, as evinced by the muny-watch parti and Twter rpons to the recent live broadst on NBC.

After the suici aths of several young people the fall of 2010, cludg Rutgers Universy stunt Tyler Clementi, crowds gathered for a vigil New York’s Washgton Square Park, wavg rabow-lored glow sticks while openly gay Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson led them sgg Over the Rabow.

Who would have predicted that a generatn of gay kids raised on Atari, Ntendo and all their future eratns would have grown up to form a full-on movement: gaymers?

THE ENDURG (GAY?) APPEAL OF 'THE WIZARD OF OZ': MISTER OF CULTURE

The atmosphere around the theater was one of a relig procsn; all seemed like harmls fun; but, as wh all public spectacl gay culture – beyond the revelry was always a pervasively tragic overtone. Most remarkably, is the homosexual male intifitn wh Dorothy herself; perfectly embodied by the equally happy and sad Judy Garland – whose untimely ath 1969 advertently sparked the Stonewall Rts.

Along wh other glamoro, but ultimately self-stctive screen legends, like Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, and Marilyn Monroe, gay men saw Garland the mirror for their own manic-prsive reali: feigng a perfect exuberance to the adorg mass while gog home alone and nursg the fterg wounds. Furthermore, the three characters of the Srecrow, the T-man, and the Cowardly Ln, are also metaphors for the gay male fantasy: of fdg their perfected selv; nstantly dogged by a feelg of aquacy and missgns, that is forever and unntrollably throwg before your ey a sensatn that you are lackg; though cintly, as the characters fally fd out – was not wantg at all, but was wh them. Wh this year’s Osr race celebratg a batn of gay characters (Brendon Fraser The Whale, Cate Blanchett Tár), mp ins (Angela Bassett, Lady Gaga, Michelle Yeoh), and, Everythg Everywhere All At Once’s Stephanie Hsu, the first openly queer actor nomated for playg a queer character sce Ian McKellen 1998 (pl all the nods for Baz Luhrman’s Elvis, a movie that provis a one-word answer to the qutn, “Alexa, fe mp?

WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?

There’s no overt sexualy or romance of any kd here, and (probably) no tentnal queer dg, but such is the power of The Wizard of Oz and s star, all-time-one-off Judy Garland, that s imagery is synonymo wh gay culture. Friend of Dorothy has been slang for gay men for years (some chalk this up to Judy Garland, beloved of gay men everywhere, while others pot to the origal Oz books and the le “you have some queer iends, Dorothy”), Over the Rabow is arguably the most important song gay culture, as anyone who has heard Ruf Wawright sgg will tell you, and rabows themselv are part of the fabric of Pri.

‘FRIENDS OF DOROTHY’: HOW JUDY GARLAND BEME A GAY IN

Todd Hayn “The only bs that I liked Velvet Goldme were the gay bs”, said David Bowie, the unwillg spiratn for Todd Hayn’ thly-veiled Ziggy Stardt tribute act. The film broke new ground as a queer drama that was accepted by a mastream dience, though some have blamed private homophobia on behalf of Amy members for blockg what was expected to be a Bt Picture shoe- at the (2014) dir. Matthew WarchThe very Brish (and very Welsh and very gay and very lefty) te story of a group of gay Londoners, based around the real life (and still there) book shop Gay’s The Word, who ci to raise money for a Welsh town h by the 1984 mers’ strike.

SEVEN CLU THAT ‘POTTER’S’ DUMBLEDORE WAS GAY

Call Me By Your Name’s tale of teenage lt and awakeng sexualy has a sweet and reee vibe, and is that rare thg – a high profile gay story which no-one di horribly. Michelle Yeoh’s Evelyn is on a journey through the multiverse that isn’t jt about savg a billn worlds, ’s about, ultimately, tly acceptg her gay dghter, Stephanie Hsu’s Joy. Nicholas Stoller The prsure of beg one of the first proper, mastream gay rom s gave this extremely likeable, funny and filthy film some performance anxiety at the box office, which is a shame.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE: OM BOY WIZARD TO GAY BEAT POET

The effively mpy story of a misf teenager pg her small-town home to fd a new fay of fellow outsts on the other si of the rabow ronated so strongly that "iend of Dorothy" has bee synonymo wh "gay.

" Soon, the Navy was sendg vtigators to every gay bar the area to fd rmatn on Dorothy, prumably while their terviewe tried very hard not to lgh their butts off.

J.K. ROWLG THROWS DOWN “GAY WIZARD” AND “EPIC FAIL” AT HARVARD 2008

”More like this- Film’s most shockg moments- How Friends changed our ia of fay- The bt films of 2019 so farRoss is far om the only gay man to feel such strong affy wh Garland’s work and life. Gay magaze The Advote once lled her the “Elvis of homosexuals”, and a 1967 review of Garland's ncert at New York Cy’s Palace Theatre, Time Magaze observed that a “disproportnate part of her nightly claque” was gay. Two years earlier, Garland herself had been asked if at a San Francis prs nference if she md havg such a large gay followg, to which she rpond: “I uldn’t re ls.

WHAT IS GAY WIZARD?

The buzz surroundg the release, partnered wh the 2018 remake of A Star is Born – the inic showbiz drama that earned Garland an Amy Award nomatn 1954 – has brought her distctly gay legacy back to bpic Judy, Renée Zellweger plays Garland – and is a favoure for next year’s Osrs (Cred: David Hdley/ LD Entertament / Roadsi Attractns)To many gay men, Garland is the mother of all ins. Analysg her story, om upbrgg to ath, helps unrstand how and why some gay men look to famo women to help them navigate the town to Tseltown In 1922, Garland was born Franc Ethel Gumm – named after her parents Frank and Ethel – Grand Rapids, Mnota.

One is not brought up gay – Richard DyerThis perd Garland’s life, which mirrored closely the story of Dorothy, has ntributed signifintly to her stat as a gay in. In his book, Heavenly Bodi: Film Stars and Society, profsor Richard Dyer observ some gay men intify wh Garland’s rejectn of the ordars that she seemed sted for as a child. He theoris that turng out to be abnormal after beg “saturated wh the valu or ordars” is a pot where Garland and Dorothy’s stori align wh the experience of some gay men, enuragg those who perceive themselv as ‘different’ to gravate towards troubleGarland’s arrival as a major Hollywood star was plited by a seri of disastro personal relatnships, most notably wh herself.

I'M A GAY WIZARD

” This physil secury is somethg that many gay men n intify wh, particular, as a mographic more likely to battle body dysmorphia, harm their bodi, attempt suici and suffer om eatg disorrs.

In the book, Changg Gay Male Inti, Dr Andrew Cooper suggts that the body n be a plex battleground for many gay men: that the body be a key se for projectg a “succsful” sense of self to gay peers, but also for embodyg succs the ey of wir society.

But the Osr end up gog to Grace Kelly, signallg that Garland’s Hollywood star was not gog to be reigned after this pot, the motif of Garland as a ‘survivor’ be central to her gay appeal. A Star is Born further blurred the le between her work and life, wh Richard Dyer intifyg this as the moment where Garland’s image of beg “damaged goods” be an sential part of her star persona and gay in stat.

THUNR WAIVE RUDY GAY, VETERAN BE FREE AGENT

As an example, Muñoz suggts that when a gay man “intified” wh Garland, he was “wrg his way to the mastream culture which his own story uld never be told.

”Gay men often reject gay cultural figur that they perceive as geared towards straight people – such as the st members of Netflix’s Queer EyeBut ntrastgly, the book How to be Gay, queer historian David Halper scrib a tensn wh the “mastream” that leads gay men to be “highly cril, if not ntemptuo, of their own artists, wrers and filmmakers”.

He draws a key distctn between gay culture – where “nventnal” whe gay men are domant – and gay subculture – where women, drag queens, queer people of lour and trans people are more visible. This some gay men to reject gay cultural figur that they perceive as geared towards straight people – such as, to e two very current exampl, the st members of Netflix’s Queer Eye and gay Democratic printial ndidate Pete Buttigeig. Instead many embrace subcultural – and their ey, more subversive – female narrativ like Garland’ seen the new film Judy, Garland found a new niche as a live sger towards the end of her life (Cred: David Hdley / LD Entertament/ Roadsi Attractns)So, pendg on which way you look at , “disintifyg” wh Garland is eher gay men’s way of feelg aligned to mastream culture – or, fact, rejectg in athIt is an unavoidable tth that Garland’s tragic and untimely ath has also ntributed to her stat as a gay in, makg her a timels figure.