How Judy Garland In The Wizard Of Oz Became A Symbol Of Hope For The LGBTQ+ Community

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is famously sung by Garland as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz." The song became one of her signature pieces and a favorite among her fans. It's hard to imagine both the movie and the rest of Garland's career without "SomewhereOver The Rainbow," but according to Marilyn Malara (viaUnited Press International),

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is famously sung by Garland as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz." The song became one of her signature pieces and a favorite among her fans. It's hard to imagine both the movie and the rest of Garland's career without "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," but according to Marilyn Malara (via United Press International), the song was very nearly cut from the film. Producers thought the movie's running time was too long and realized cutting the song would bring its run time under 100 minutes. Associate producer Arthur Freed is thought to have insisted on keeping the song and ensuring its place in musical, cinematic, and, ultimately, gay history. Per The Atlantic, a 1967 review of a Garland concert at New York's Palace Theatre noted that "A disproportionate part of her nightly claque seems to be homosexual" and observed that some concertgoers "practically levitate from their seats, particularly when Judy sings ['Over the Rainbow']."

Just over a decade after this review, according to Slate, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed what is thought to be the original rainbow flag, which was adopted as a symbol of pride by the LGBTQ+ community. Baker used each color symbolically: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for the human spirit. (The pink and indigo were later dropped and the six colors remain the standard.) 

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