Oh yeah I've heard of it. It's not used so much anymore, but was used a lot in the 1940s and 1950s to help LGBT people find other queer people without letting others know what was going on. Think of the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie.
It used to be illegal in the usa to be gay so gay people used it as code so no one except gays knew what it meant
Exactly. References the lead character from The Wizzard of Oz, and how she'd befriend those that weren't considered normal/respectable by society.
Ah, now I see! A bit like a hankie out of the back pocket etc? I'm really not all that clued up on this sort of thing. I've been ignorant because I'm none to experienced.
It's one of my favorite terms, because i find it really amusing. The way the story goes, in the 40s, you'd be at a party, and you'd see someone you wondered whether or not they were gay, and you'd go up to them and say "Are you a friend of Dorotny?" If the person wasn't gay, they'd say "Dorothy who? or "No, I don't think so" and you'd go on your merry way... If the person was gay, then he'd say "Oh yes, definitely!... and the two of you would be off in conversation about this and that. I suppose the only situation where that wouldn't work would be if you were at a party where Dorothy somebody was the guest of honor. You might get yourself into trouble there.
I can honestly say I've never heard of that before. But it sounds like an easier way to go about things rather than the awkward are you gay convo.
Yeah, I've heard of it. Judy Garland was also a huge gay cultural symbol- might've been a gay rights activist too but probably stems moreso from the whole "Over the Rainbow" deal.
I never heard people use it here. You got good answers. So, I'll respond with the only place I've heard the term used EVER. It was easy to work out the meaning, obvious and stereotypical I must say. I didn't know the origin until I looked it up right now. I love willies... - YouTube Best you don't watch that if you're not out. It's the closest thing I'd seen to a musical until very recently - Repo! The Genetic Opera. Yeah, I still thought musicals were gay in my subconsciousness. Silly me.
I've heard it before. Hilariously, theres a reference to it in the adult musical parody of the wizard of oz. Id talk about it but I dont think we can discuss porn that specifically here. Basically, they sing a song about how its ok for the lion to be gay. LOL
