Uses of My Research

Three far-flung women have recently made fascinating use of my research.

1 Dialog is a Polish journal on modern drama, theatre and film, with a bit of cultural anthropology and critical studies; they publish both plays and essays. The October issue is devoted mostly to queer theatre and includes a new play. The October issue is devoted mostly to queer theatre and includes a new play by Pawel Soszynski that uses imagery and quotes from The Wizard of Oz.

Since Oz is not familiar to many in Poland, and the Oz-gay connection is also not well-known, Joanna Krakowska, the deputy editor, felt the play needed some context. She found my book by googling “why gays love Oz.” Her article in Dialog about my book uses the photo by Dave Harris of some men as Dorothy and her companions in a Europride parade. The title of her essay is roughly translated as “We're not in Kansas anymore, or Gays explain things.”

2 The rabbi at Beth Chayim Chadashim, the LGBT synagogue in Los Angeles is Lisa Edwards. She attended my August talk at the West Hollywood library and bought a copy of my book. In a recent Rosh Hashanah sermon, she spoke about the concept of home, and talked about The Wizard of Oz, holding up my book for the congregation to see. Her online notes for that day begin with the lyrics to “Dorothy,” a song by Hugh Prestwood that Judy Collins recorded. 

3 Dina Schiff Massachi teaches about Oz in two classes, ‘Oz: An American Fairytale’ and ‘American Fairytales in Fiction and Film’ in the American Studies Dept. of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As a member of the International Wizard of Oz Club, she receives the Baum Bugle and read my article on the Oz-gay connection. In her classes and conference presentations, Massachi often discusses the themes that appeal to gay men that I lay out in my article.