Homo-fascism and the Cowardly Lion

[DomWackTroll]

R.C. Jr. posts about how the acceptance of homosexuality has slowly crept into our culture…

facebook.com/rcsprouljr/posts/808568132558050

…but apparently sees no irony in posting, on the very same day, a TBT photo of himself as the Cowardly Lion, complete with “poymanent†ringlet curls and red bow.

facebook.com/rcsprouljr/photos/a.511143875633812.1073741826.111950572219813/808540109227519/?type=1&theater

Spanky, tell me: What exactly do you think these barely-veiled lyrics mean? “Life is sad, believe me Missy/ When you're born to be a sissy.†Ever heard the phrase "friend of Dorothy"? Ever read anything whatsoever about the life of one of the most famous human beings of the 20th Century?

Oh, you nutty straight men and your lack of gaydar!

[sparkles]

Huh. You really do learn something new every day. I knew about "friend of Dorothy" but never really connected it up to the Cowardly Lion. Of course, now that I know, duh… I shall go back under my rock now.

[Marian the Librarian]

Good find, DWT!

And over at "Ladies Against Feminism," (a Jennie Chancey production, with lots of recent posts from Kelly Reins), there's lots of pearl clutching and homo-hating going on. Sodomite couples! Cohabitation! Culture wars! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!!!

:pearlclutch: :pearlclutch: :pearlclutch:

[Loveday]

Huh. You really do learn something new every day. I knew about "friend of Dorothy" but never really connected it up to the Cowardly Lion. Of course, now that I know, duh… I shall go back under my rock now.

May I join you under that rock? I'd heard the phrase 'friend of Dorothy' for years, and knew what it meant, but had never been able to figure out just why it meant what it does. And of course, never asked or bothered to Google it. :embarrassed:

Another reason I love FJ--the learning goes on and on. :)

[usedtobenice]

I think FOD isn't about the Cowardly Lion being gay, it was that he was having to live a lie. He had to pretend to be a ferocious and brave beast,to be accepted as the King of the forest, when he was actually timid and kind. He wasn't allowed to be himself,but Dorothy loved and accepted him for who he truly was. That's where the gay community saw the parallel in their own lives.

The terms sissy was used back then as scaredy cat, which is also in the song. Scaredy-cat=Cowardly Lion.

I'm sure you can't tell that the "Wizard of Oz" is my favorite movie of all time? :-D

[Delilah]

I think FOD isn't about the Cowardly Lion being gay, it was that he was having to live a lie. He had to pretend to be a ferocious and brave beast,to be accepted as the King of the forest, when he was actually timid and kind. He wasn't allowed to be himself,but Dorothy loved and accepted him for who he truly was. That's where the gay community saw the parallel in their own lives.

The terms sissy was used back then as scaredy cat, which is also in the song. Scaredy-cat=Cowardly Lion.

I'm sure you can't tell that the "Wizard of Oz" is my favorite movie of all time? :-D

I see your point, but the bows and ringlets Cowardly Lion received in the Emerald City were definitely effeminate. He looked like a cross-dressing lion.

Does anyone know if R.C. knows about this? Of course he would try to pass it off as being part of an ensemble costume. He will feel very persecuted if he gets teased.

Christian Persecution!!! :lol:

[GenerationCedarchip]

Good find, DWT!

And over at "Ladies Against Feminism," (a Jennie Chancey production, with lots of recent posts from Kelly Reins), there's lots of pearl clutching and homo-hating going on. Sodomite couples! Cohabitation! Culture wars! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!!!

:pearlclutch: :pearlclutch: :pearlclutch:

I think (though I don't know for sure) that management has been handed over to Kelly Reins entirely. The message forums were shut down years ago, and I don't think Jennie Chancey has written much on there in years. Actually, since it's almost always just links to other places, I don't think there's been any original content on there in ages. I don't check regularly, though, so I could be wrong.

Speaking of which, I've always found it weird that so many fundie boards and websites have shut down or at least become completely dead in terms of interaction with readers/potential followers. It seems like if you want your faith to do something other than stagnate or die out, you would want to have an active message forum, websites, etc... Then again, maybe the fact that the conservative Christian websites, or at least the ones aimed at women and teens, are dropping like flies might be a sign the movement is in real trouble.

[DomWackTroll]

I think (though I don't know for sure) that management has been handed over to Kelly Reins entirely. The message forums were shut down years ago, and I don't think Jennie Chancey has written much on there in years. Actually, since it's almost always just links to other places, I don't think there's been any original content on there in ages. I don't check regularly, though, so I could be wrong.

Speaking of which, I've always found it weird that so many fundie boards and websites have shut down or at least become completely dead in terms of interaction with readers/potential followers. It seems like if you want your faith to do something other than stagnate or die out, you would want to have an active message forum, websites, etc... Then again, maybe the fact that the conservative Christian websites, or at least the ones aimed at women and teens, are dropping like flies might be a sign the movement is in real trouble.

I hope that's what it means! But you know if you asked Jennie or any of the others, they'd just give you some baloney about "feeling a need to turn my heart back to my family."

[DGayle]

I never thought Lion looked effeminate. I never thought twice about putting bows on my male dog. When we look at the lion, we see him as an anthropomorphic lion. But in the book, he really is actually a lion, and he does have a bow. He doesn't look effeminate in the illustrations. He's just a cat with a bow on his head.

Meaning was assigned later, just like how Elsa singing Let It Go wasn't written about being gay, but has resonated with gay people, and so they've adopted it. That doesn't mean the meaning viewers put into it is any less valid.

Judy Garland herself is a gay icon because she openly did accept gay people in her personal life. She had no problem going to gay bars with her gay friends at a time when that was just seen as unbelievably nasty. Her love for them came before appearances. Being a friend of Dorothy's meant you were going to be accepted.

[DomWackTroll]

I never thought Lion looked effeminate. I never thought twice about putting bows on my male dog. When we look at the lion, we see him as an anthropomorphic lion. But in the book, he really is actually a lion, and he does have a bow. He doesn't look effeminate in the illustrations. He's just a cat with a bow on his head.

Meaning was assigned later, just like how Elsa singing Let It Go wasn't written about being gay, but has resonated with gay people, and so they've adopted it. That doesn't mean the meaning viewers put into it is any less valid.

Judy Garland herself is a gay icon because she openly did accept gay people in her personal life. She had no problem going to gay bars with her gay friends at a time when that was just seen as unbelievably nasty. Her love for them came before appearances. Being a friend of Dorothy's meant you were going to be accepted.

Meaning was not "assigned later." It was there and it was meant to be there. The Wizard of Oz was made (in part) by the Freed Unit at MGM, back then known by the now shockingly un-PC nickname "Freed's fairies." Freed was not gay, but most of the men in the Unit were, and there was definitely a gay sensibility that worked its way into their movies.

The Cowardly Lion's lyrics and makeover are far from the only sly gay references in The Wizard of Oz: the Scarecrow telling Dorothy, "Some people do go both ways, you know..."; Glinda singing, "Come out, come out..."; the allusion to life in the closet when the Wizard exclaims, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"; etc., etc. This stuff was totally intentional, but as long as it was vague enough to sail over children’s (and most straight adults’) heads, MGM didn’t care.

I highly recommend the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, which provides tons of examples of these types of references in classic Hollywood films.

[Rachel333]

Meaning was not "assigned later." It was there and it was meant to be there. The Wizard of Oz was made (in part) by the Freed Unit at MGM, back then known by the now shockingly un-PC nickname "Freed's fairies." Freed was not gay, but most of the men in the Unit were, and there was definitely a gay sensibility that worked its way into their movies.

The Cowardly Lion's lyrics and makeover are far from the only sly gay references in The Wizard of Oz: the Scarecrow telling Dorothy, "Some people do go both ways, you know..."; Glinda singing, "Come out, come out..."; the allusion to life in the closet when the Wizard exclaims, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"; etc., etc. This stuff was totally intentional, but as long as it was vague enough to sail over children’s (and most straight adults’) heads, MGM didn’t care.

I highly recommend the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, which provides tons of examples of these types of references in classic Hollywood films.

Maybe she's talking about the book? I'm fairly sure there were no gay undertones to the original story, at least not intentionally. (A lot of people say it's a populist metaphor, but that theory has been pretty well debunked.)

Was "coming out" used in that context in the 30's? I was under the impression that it wasn't used that way until later, and from what I understand the closet metaphor is mostly a post-Stonewall idea. (Before then the image was of entering into gay society, not exiting from hiding/oppression.)

[DomWackTroll]

Maybe she's talking about the book? I'm fairly sure there were no gay undertones to the original story, at least not intentionally. (A lot of people say it's a populist metaphor, but that theory has been pretty well debunked.)

Was "coming out" used in that context in the 30's? I was under the impression that it wasn't used that way until later, and from what I understand the closet metaphor is mostly a post-Stonewall idea. (Before then the image was of entering into gay society, not exiting from hiding/oppression.)

I agree; I was only talking about the movie. I assumed DGayle was talking about the movie because she compared it to another movie.

Was "coming out" used in the 1930s? Well, certainly not in Des Moines, IA. But we're talking about a place that was very different from the rest of America, in that large groups of gay men-- who were all aware of each other's sexual orientation-- lived and worked together for decades. They didn't run around with bullhorns shouting "I'm gay," but everyone knew who was gay and who wasn't.