Who's Dorothy? And her "Friends"? - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

lucaslaw · 03-14-2006, 11:35 PM

Okay, I think I figured out who were the "Friends of Dorothy" on my last cruise but I wanted to confirm it and get a little history about Dorothy. Can anyone help me out? I must be getting old and I'm only 47!

Cruise Princess · 03-15-2006, 01:13 AM

Dorothy's friends are the people who prefer the same gender.

JOEY!!!!!!!!!!! Where are you when we need you to answer this? LOL He's better at answering this question than me. Trust me. I don't know who Dorothy is?

Traceybell · 03-15-2006, 01:41 AM

It took me 3 cruises to figure this out until we made friends with a couple from our roll call that regularly went to the F o Dorothy meetings. They filled me in and I also learned about Friends of Bill W and I think Friends of Lois.

Maybe we need a post to name all the Friends of... or is that not cool?

Tracey

newhips · 03-15-2006, 01:46 AM

Friends of Lois??? OK you got me, this is a new one on me!!! Who constitutes the FOL?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traceybell

It took me 3 cruises to figure this out until we made friends with a couple from our roll call that regularly went to the F o Dorothy meetings. They filled me in and I also learned about Friends of Bill W and I think Friends of Lois.

Maybe we need a post to name all the Friends of... or is that not cool?

Tracey

jeffs · 03-15-2006, 01:53 AM

I met so many people on our last cruise, that by the end of the week, we were having Friends of Jeff meetings...

jeffs · 03-15-2006, 01:55 AM

Friends of Dorothy is a group for gay people onboard. But I am not sure who Dorothy is and why they chose that name. Friends of Bill W is for those people in AA. Bill W started Alcoholics Anonymous. Never heard of Friends of Lois...

stowaway2k · 03-15-2006, 02:12 AM

Isn't Friends of Lois the same as Friends of Bill W, but a meeting for women?

I could be wrong, but that's my impression.

FOD..Friends of Dorothy.

Living out here in LaLaLand, one gets to know all sorts of things...

Dorothy is a reference to Judy Garland.
Why? You can figure that much out...

Judy Garland was once, and I guess still is, an icon within the gay community, much like Madonna and Cher are now.

"Not that there's anything wrong with it..."
(line from a classic "Seinfeld" episode when someone thought that Jerry was gay)

MCcruiser · 03-15-2006, 03:08 AM

Judy Garland once said that when she died all the flags on Fire Island would be set at halfmast. In the 50s and 60s, the gay community would throng to her concerts, and Fire Island is a summer vacation hang out for them.

Occasionally you will see rainbows associated with the gay community as well, and that is a reference to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the theme song from the Wizard of Oz. Hence Friends of Dorothy.
-------------------

Now for Friends of Lois. While related to Friends of Bill W, it is not for women only. Bill W started Alcoholics Anonymous, so his friends are people who have embraced his philosophy. I'm not sure who Lois is or was, but her friends are Al-Anon members. Al-Alon is a support group for family members of people with drinking problems.
Friends of Lois:
http://www.ola-is.org/groups/fol/

sue miller · 03-15-2006, 07:40 AM

Interesting!! Thanks for the info guys!!

djgifford · 03-15-2006, 07:47 AM

Interesting how the "Dorothy" name came about...you learn something everyday!