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Contents:

• WHICH ACTORS THE WIZARD OF OZ WERE GAY?
• THE ENDURG (GAY?) APPEAL OF 'THE WIZARD OF OZ': MISTER OF CULTURE
• WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?
• THE GAYS
• WHAT'S THE GAYT PART OF "THE WIZARD OF OZ"?
• CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; WHY OZ IS A STATE OF MD IN GAY LIFE AND DRAG SHOWS

WHICH ACTORS THE WIZARD OF OZ WERE GAY?

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.

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

“The beliefs, ” he said, “overlap and rerce each other and have bee part of gay folklore, creasg our sense of history and rercg gay inty. Some disparagg remarks about gay men attendg Garland ncerts were prted reviews the late 1960s.

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. 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”).

WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?

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. There is, of urse, also the unique place occupied by Garland among gay ins. 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. 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.

THE GAYS

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. Which actors The Wizard of Oz were gay? That om terpretg the three central male characters Srecrow (Ray Bolger), T Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Ln (Bert Lahr) as gay men revolvg around a mpy heroe (Judy Garland’s Dorothy).

Are there gay paras The Wizard of Oz? Oz imagery is equently seen LGBT pri paras, wh dividuals drsg as characters, floats g Oz as a unifyg theme, and anizers choosg Oz for the theme of the para as a whole (the 2003 Europri Para, held Manchter, England, clud gay men drsed as characters om The Wizard of Oz). I had the chance to chat wh Jerrod Carmichael at the Emmys, where he opened up about beg a role mol for LGBTQ youth after he me out as gay April his HBO Max special “Rothaniel.

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. ​ ​— Ruf Wawright, gay sger and poser.

WHAT'S THE GAYT PART OF "THE WIZARD OF OZ"?

—Gregory Maguire, gay thor of Wicked: The Life and Tim of the Wicked Wch of the Wt. ​— Clive Barker, gay wrer and film-maker. ​The nnectn between gay men and The Wizard of Oz is wily acknowledged.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; WHY OZ IS A STATE OF MD IN GAY LIFE AND DRAG SHOWS

For example, Ben Brantley of the New York Tim lled Oz “a rnerstone gay mythology. ” The view that gay men love The Wizard of Oz is so prevalent, fact, that has bee part of the received wisdom about homosexuals, and even the gay ngrsman Barney Frank found ocsn to refer to the Oz–gay nnectn on the floor of the Hoe of Reprentativ. The stereotype is ed to humoro effect mastream venu also, such as a 1996 Hollywood movie, My Fellow Amerins, where an “All Dorothy Marchg Band” appears a gay pri para.

Gay bars and dance clubs, long a fol pot of gay muni, equently e Oz their nam (bars and clubs are lled Oz Seattle; New Orleans; Ws, Wisns; Fort Lrdale; and Toronto). ​​Other gay-oriented bs e Oz termology their nam as well (Oz Creatns is a gay gift bs Sprgfield, Massachetts). Bs g the name Dorothy or Toto abound (Dorothy’s Surrenr was a gay souvenir store Wt Hollywood, California and Toto’s Revenge is a gay gift shop Long Beach, California).

Nonprof anizatns and servic also allu to Oz their nam (Surrenr Dorothy is an vtment group anized by gay men Chigo). And gay anizatns often hold Oz-themed events (“A Night the Emerald Cy” was a stume ball to benef L.