Would Dorothy and Ozma be Made Canon Today?

[Winter]

The Land of Oz series, or the Wizard of Oz series, is noted for many things but chief among them is its... rather MASSIVE LGBT fanbase. A "Friend of Dorothy" has been slang for Men who are Gay for almost as long as the iconic 1939 film and there are a number of Queer undertones in the original books. Not new books made by authors coming in I mean the original books had a LOT of Queer undertones.

Most notably, at least on this post, Dorothy and Ozma. Ozma is a girl who was LITERALLY trapped in a boys body and her relationship with Dorothy has a number of moments that could be seen as romantic. And this is not lost of the fans, with whom many see them as the OTP of the series and many writers after L. Frank Baum tried to undercut this by giving one or both girls a male love interest but none have ever stuck.

And today, the states HAVE gotten better when it comes to LGBT Representation to the point that many shows openly and PROUDLY feature LGBT characters in leading roles with many of the shows being huge hits with critics and audience.

So, with all that in mind, if there was a Oz TV Series (animated or otherwise) would Dorothy and Ozma be made into an official couple?

[clearspira]

Its 2021. Of course they would.

[hammerofglass]

I honestly didn't know they weren't already canon.

I haven't read the books for ~25 years admittedly, but I thought they got married? Dorothy gets a Princess title and they move in together, I know that.

[Frustration]

I'm sure there would be lots of gaybaiting. They'd have torrid moments of almost-kissing, then they'd develop relationships with hot young men that can barely act but look good with their shirts off.

[Winter]

I honestly didn't know they weren't already canon.

I haven't read the books for ~25 years admittedly, but I thought they got married? Dorothy gets a Princess title and they move in together, I know that.

And then there's this-

Ozma laughed at the wistful expression in the girl's eyes, and then she drew Dorothy to her and kissed her.
"Am I not your friend and playmate?" she asked.
Dorothy flushed.
"You know how dearly I love you, Ozma!" she cried. "But you're so busy ruling all this Land of Oz that we can't always be together."

Also, I think this is from the books themselves, correct me if I'm wrong.



But yeah, as far as I know the two were never Officially Married but I do wonder if Baum had intended them to be written as romantic or if the nature of their relationship wasn't intentional. I mean, kissing wasn't always the act of pure romantic passion like it is today, people could just kiss each other like some people just shake hands but... SERIOUSLY this doesn't read or LOOK like just two close friends but two lovers.

Maybe I'm just reading into something that isn't there but I think if a TV series adaptation is made that Dorothy and Ozma might just be made canon.

[Frustration]

I think you're applying modern standards to a time and place where they didn't exist.

When the idea of lesbianism was foreign to most people, that sort of speech and conduct wasn't interpreted in a sexual manner.

[goodperson25]

I think you're applying modern standards to a time and place where they didn't exist.

When the idea of lesbianism was foreign to most people, that sort of speech and conduct wasn't interpreted in a sexual manner.

That's a BS talking point that has rarely if ever been true.

[CharlesPhipps]

I mean, it was pretty canon in Baum's books according to some.

Mind you, they're both perpetually children too.

So...yeah.

[Draco Dracul]

I think you're applying modern standards to a time and place where they didn't exist.

When the idea of lesbianism was foreign to most people, that sort of speech and conduct wasn't interpreted in a sexual manner.

Gay people have always existed dude.

[Frustration]

Yes, but people haven't always recognized that they existed. Or even been aware of the concept, when it was stigmatized and considered a perversion that children and women in particular had to be protected from knowing about.