MovieChat Forums > Tootsie (1982) Discussion > Was Julie attracted to Dorothy?

Was Julie attracted to Dorothy?

posted 14 years ago by Bunnymonsterz
13 replies | jump to latest

In the scene where they almost kiss, Julie seems pretty weirded-out by the situation, but then says (I'm paraphrasing) that she's just not "well adjusted enough" and that she "obviously had the same impulse", etc.

I'm just kind of confused by that - I don't know how Julie could be attracted to Dorothy, who she saw as a kind of matronly mother figure. Maybe Julie sensed the man-vibe underneath the wigs and makeup?

...rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell...

[–] mark-1589 14 years ago

I can't recall exactly, but I think the lines you are quoting are essentially what Julie says in the first shock, trying to minimize the seriousness of the situation and not to make Dorothy feel so bad.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] MuchToBeGratefulFor 14 years ago

I didn't think Julie was sexually attracted to Dorothy. As she says when she tells Dorothy she can't see her any more, "I love you, but I can't love you."

I think she says what she did, about having the same impulses, to try not to make Dorothy feel so bad as the other poster said, also she thinks she must have been putting out some kind of signals that got Dorothy thinking she was interested.

You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi

[–] priscilla-hopkins 14 years ago

Julie was attracted to the man beneath the disguise

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] nicver 14 years ago

I actually read that Julie was a closeted lesbian.

I know, many people disagree but LGBTs I talk to about it agree with me.

[–] Ozymandias-King-of-Kings 14 years ago

I actually read that Julie was a closeted lesbian.

Except she rejects the advances from a 'woman'.

I know, many people disagree but LGBTs I talk to about it agree with me.

They are of course... wrong. If you listen to LGBT enough, you'll come to realise that everyone on earth is actually LGBT, or if they're not - they're simply in denial. I'm exaggerating, but there's truth there.

It's is possible to read many things into any movie. I tend to go with what's implicit and explicit, which at the end of Tootsie is that Julie is going to have a relationship with Michael - and it may actually be a good one - because Michael has shown himself to be someone Julie might benefit from being around.

[–] catsy29 12 years ago

I'm a lesbian and I didn't think for a second that Julie was a closeted lesbian. It was obvious that she wasn't sexually attracted, at all, to Dorothy. She explained to her really well when she said that she loved her like a friend but she couldn't love her the way she though Dorothy wanted it, so it was better for both to stop seeing each other.

[–] magdalene_1024 12 years ago

Emotionally, yes.

Dorothy listened to Julie. Dorothy validated Julie. Dorothy inspired Julie and helped Julie find her own inner strength. Dorothy was a pillar of support for Julie.

Julie mentions that she lost her mother at an early age, and Dorothy seems to be the perfect motherly figure for her. And she fills this role so well that Julie even brings her home for the holidays, obviously hoping that Dorothy and her dad will hit it off and get together, making Dorothy her 'mom' in reality. (Which does happen on her dad's part, which I'm guessing Julie was thrilled about--she knew her dad had proposed to Dorothy, and I'm betting she encouraged the proposal.)

She did genuinely love Dorothy (as evidenced by her line later of "I miss Dorothy.") and wanted Dorothy to remain a part of her life.

She had just simply thought that Dorothy's role would be as her stepmother, and was completely taken off guard by Dorothy nearly kissing *her*.

[–] Ozymandias-King-of-Kings 12 years ago

Julie mentions that she lost her mother at an early age, and Dorothy seems to be the perfect motherly figure for her. And she fills this role so well that Julie even brings her home for the holidays, obviously hoping that Dorothy and her dad will hit it off and get together, making Dorothy her 'mom' in reality. (Which does happen on her dad's part, which I'm guessing Julie was thrilled about--she knew her dad had proposed to Dorothy, and I'm betting she encouraged the proposal.)

Do you know, that while it now seems to me screamingly obvious, I never once made the connection between Dorothy and the 'surrogate mother' thing, nor did I see the farm sequence as Julie (possibly) trying to set her dad up. It's amazing to have missed something so obvious. Thanks for that.

[–] catsy29 12 years ago

I agree completely with you. That is my interpreation too

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

I was wondering about that. Julie draws back from making physical contact so I think that she just wanted a mother figure, as she had lost her own mom.

[–] lukejbarnett2002 9 years ago

but Julie had to break off their friendship because of that.