13

Throughout the Oz books, we see that Ozma has several indicators of perhaps being gay: She never takes a boyfriend, she has a... erm... very close friendship with Dorothy, and some people claim that she is in a relationship with Dorothy in book six.

She was also a boy for the large majority of her childhood, so perhaps her transition wasn't as smooth as it appeared to be?

Ozma being lesbian is also a popular theory on the Internet — see here.

Is there anything in the text to indicate that Ozma is gay?

Stormblessed
  • 318
  • 4
  • 16
R. Daneel Olivaw
  • 171
  • 1
  • 5
  • 1
    Where in book 6 (The Emerald City of Oz) does it imply that Dorothy and Ozma get married? I've never heard this theory and I'm quite curious. Also, if we're going to go with "never has a het marriage = potentially gay," then the Scarecrow is much more likely given his relationship with the Tin Man. The Tin Man (fka Nick Chopper) has a canonical female ex-fiancée, so he could be arguably bi. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 23 '17 at 09:45
  • 1
    @LaurenIpsum - she's the only one who can enter Ozma's room uninvited, they live together, etc... See also Wikipedia. – R. Daneel Olivaw Oct 23 '17 at 19:44
  • I will accept that as an implication of a relationship, but not a marriage. Is there any evidence or implication of a formalized relationship? "Dorothy represents Oz in matters of state" isn't sufficient, because if Ozma made her a Princess of Oz, then she has enough rank to qualify. So do the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, Glinda the Good, and the Wizard by virtue of being Ozma's friends and highly-placed members of her Court, such as it is. I would want to see mention of exchanged tokens or Dorothy sitting on a throne. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 23 '17 at 20:31
  • 3
    Okay, I reread Book 6 this evening, and while there are several places which imply a close relationship, there is nothing which hints at a marriage ceremony taking place. However, these books were written at the beginning of the 20th century, and some of the language around friendshp and intimacy has drifted. "Tender kisses and embraces" could be used in a platonic sense in 1910, even if it's pretty explicitly sexual/romantic 100 years later. So while there's room to argue that they are in a relationship, it's not heavily implied anywhere. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 24 '17 at 01:44
  • I might also add that Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, who are a canonically married straight couple, are given separate bedrooms with a bathroom between them in their quarters, and when they travel as part of a group, everyone is separated by gender — the married couple does not share a room. Baum didn't appear to be in the habit of showing any romantic couple in any way, so it might not mean anything that Ozma and Dorothy's potential romantic relationship wasn't made more explicit. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 24 '17 at 01:46
  • @LaurenIpsum Interesting note about AE/UH and Baum not really showing any romantic couple. I wonder if that could be turned into an answer ... ? – Rand al'Thor Oct 31 '17 at 11:13
  • @Randal'Thor It's useful context but doesn't provide an answer to the question, which is why I left it as a comment. TBH, Baum was very focused on the idea of writing a fairytale, for children, "with all the heartache left out" (quoting a critic I can't find a source for any more). He shows married straight couples, and mentions straight "beaux" (boyfriends) for Ozma's cousin Ozga and Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter, but there's really no romance per se. The closest is when the Tin Woodsman and the Tin Soldier go to find their mutual ex-fiancée Nimmie Amee. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 31 '17 at 13:05
  • 1
    @Randal'Thor And that ends with Nimmie having made herself a husband of all the Tin men's chopped-off meat parts (it's Oz, just go with it), so she has no interest in either former boyfriend. Baum doesn't really show courting, even of straight couples, so there's no reason he'd show the courting of a gay couple. Basically, there's room for interpretation and implication of an Ozma/Dorothy relationship, but since Baum doesn't show any adult romantic relationships in detail, he wasn't going to show that one either. – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 31 '17 at 13:08
  • 2
    @Randal'Thor (Also, while Ozma is a fairy and her age is fungible, Dorothy is I think 10 in The Wizard of Oz, and Neill's illustrations throughout Baum's 14 stories definitely show her as pre-pubescent or a young teen. She's not old enough to be in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with anyone.) – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Oct 31 '17 at 13:10
  • I am rereading the first book right now. And I also had this memory of Dorothy having a crush on the China Princess, but right now I can't actually find the line. I have read through the whole chapter and I was sure there was a line about her having a crush in there, but I couldn't find it. Where did you (and I) get this idea from... am I missing something or is this like a mandela effect? – Arn May 02 '23 at 17:54
  • China Princess excerpt, for reference. – Sean Duggan May 03 '23 at 12:19
  • "Oh, I don't mind him a bit," said Dorothy. "But you are so beautiful," she continued, "that I am sure I could love you dearly. Won't you let me carry you back to Kansas, and stand you on Aunt Em's mantel? I could carry you in my basket." – Sean Duggan May 03 '23 at 12:21
  • @MJ713: Just commenting to say that I think your answer is better than the current visible one, and I look forward to your revisions so that you might undelete it. – Sean Duggan Jun 05 '23 at 14:15

1 Answers1

1

Well, Ozma makes Dorothy the princess of Oz and a "constant companion", they spend time walking in the garden kissing, Ozma was a boy when she first appears in the series, there's an army of pissed off women, they mention that only Dorothy is allowed in Ozma's bedroom without needing to ask permission, when she the wizard and her cousin appeared Ozma and Dorothy spent a lot of time in said bedroom making them wait, oh and in the first book Dorothy had a crush on the China Princess. There's lots more lesbian overtones in the series if you read the books.

Keep in mind, the Oz books did take place over 14 years and Baum really didn't say how old Dorothy was in each one. And Ozma's basically an immortal fairy. Also she's the queen so they don't need a ceremony, only her word.

And they aren't even the only potentially lesbian characters.

Gallifreyan
  • 8,405
  • 5
  • 33
  • 87
Clayton Overstreet
  • 35
  • 1
  • 11
    Walking in the garden kissing? Can you include a quote from the books where this happens? – Rand al'Thor Nov 16 '19 at 22:04
  • I can't account for the downvotes on this answer at all, except by wondering about people's personal motivations. It's a perfectly well-reasoned answer and reminds us that Ozma was raised as a boy, a very relevant point not raised by the other answer. – verbose May 03 '23 at 19:16
  • @verbose Answers like these need textual support. If you can't cite the passage at hand, there's no way of evaluating the veracity of the statements. – cmw Jun 03 '23 at 20:00
  • "... they spend time walking in the garden kissing, Ozma was a boy when she first appears in the series, there's an army of pissed off women," etc., is textual support. If you're claiming folks are downvoting because the answer doesn't include citatations to specific page numbers, well, in my experience people don't typically downvote for that reason; they leave a comment saying "your answer needs specific citations." Besides, anybody who's read the Oz books knows that what the answer says about the events is correct. – verbose Jun 03 '23 at 20:15
  • 1
    @verbose - Really? I'm finding it real hard to find any kissing from Ozma. It sounds so unbelievable, that if I were a lot more free with my DVs, I would DV. ... BUT... https://ia800303.us.archive.org/35/items/emeraldcityofoz00baum/emeraldcityofoz00baum.pdf - "loving kisses", and https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32094/32094-h/32094-h.htm - "Ozma was herself—a mere girl. She greeted Dorothy with a kiss" – Malady Jun 04 '23 at 01:37
  • 1
    @verbose Someone did leave a comment asking for quotes, and none were provided. And that comment has 10 upvotes on it. – cmw Jun 04 '23 at 02:20
  • And also should note all the context of https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_road_to_Oz;in_which_is_related_how_Dorothy_Gale_of_Kansas,_the_Shaggy_Man,_Button_Bright,_and_Polychrome_the_Rainbow%27s_daughter_met_on_an_enchanted_road_and_followed_it_all_the_way_to_the(14750008551).jpg – Malady Jun 04 '23 at 15:06