Friends Of Shirley Partridge edit
Hello Eric. Forgive me if I am not writing this in the right place, I noticed a note you wrote on the "Friend Of Dorothy" page a while back and thought you might be a good person to lend some support to the WWII/Dorothy Parker etymology. Some friends and I tried correcting the article by noting that "Dorothy from Kansas" was not the actual source of that expression. We provided the book and documentary film "Coming Out Under Fire" as a reference, and explained about the vernacular that developed from Mrs Parkers writings during the war. However, as I'm sure you know, the "Dorothy from Kansas" theory is much more popular. I suspect this is simply because gay people developed their own theory in the absence of the actual truth, and since we do not have great access to "Gay/Lesbian" History, an alternate explanation was developed. So the problem that we're having is that as we've tried to correct the article, a small group of dedicated "editors" are trying to protect the Garland theory and relegating Dorothy Parker and WWII to second fiddle. S/He/They have now gone so far as to "protect" the page from being edited, claiming that there are countless more "references" that support the Wizard of Oz theory. The problem with this, as I see it, is that there is BOUND to me more information supporting the Wizard of Oz theory, because that is the myth that developed in the absence of the actual story. However, none of these sources explain the history of how the term was developed. In "Coming Out Under Fire" we learn that there was in fact a vernacular adopted by Gay men who used it in their communication during and after that time. So this information supercedes any "Wizard of Oz" theory, because it actually explains its actual origin. I am hoping that you may know of some reliable sources to include, and also that you will make your presence known on the discussion board there. It has become quite an uphill battle for us. Thanks!