Ozma of Oz, Ruler of the Oz with a poppy in her hair. This image is available as an 8×11.5 inch photo print on eBay, here: Ozma of Oz with Poppies
Ozma of Oz, my Transgender Hero(ine)!
The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) is the second Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. The fantasy novel has a curious transgender component. If you have not read the book, Baum is that great kind of writer whose stories are enjoyable reading for adults as well as children. Any spoilers I make here, will be forgotten, once you get into the story.
Ozma, the daughter of the King and Queen rulers of Oz and is kidnapped by a wicked witch named Mombi. Mombi turns the infant girl into a boy (first transgender change) to thwart discovery. Now a young boy, Tip escapes Mombi’s clutches with a container of the “Powder of Life.” Tip travels throughout the many lands of Oz and meets the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. He makes friends, too, with new characters like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump.
Eventually, Tip meets Glinda, the Good Witch, and learns of his/her history. Tip agrees to be transformed back into Ozma, embracing her true self and reclaiming her place as ruler of the Emerald City and of Oz,in general (second transgender change).
Of course, the transformations are done magically and there is no hint of the political and social issues about transgender, we now deal with today. Although, Baum was a well-known supporter of suffrage and feminists’ rights… Still no controversial uproar occurred in 1904, the book was just an American Fairy Tale, after all.
And today, most people do not realize there are books Oz books to read, thinking the movie was all there was. Or, at best, they only know about the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, not realizing Baum continued the story with 13 more novels. Of course, the book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been banned many times over the years, because of “witches.”
Frank L. Baum wrote quite a number of other novels and stories, as well. You can find a reading list here: The Wonderful Books of Baum: An L. Frank Baum Book Guide in Reading Order by Carl Scott Harker. If you are an Ozian like myself, you probably know all about Baum’s literary legacy.
If you are looking for more transgender characters in fiction, consider adding the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, published in 1928, to your reading list.
News About Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz, Girl Ruler
Being the ruler of a land like Oz
may seem an unending task
like brushing your teeth after each meal
or pushing a boulder up a hill daily,
but for Ozma, it is a joy,
for her decisions are for everyone.
Luckily, the Land of Oz is divided
into many smaller countries, tribes
and towns that mostly govern themselves,
even the Emerald City has a mayor –
the Wizard of Oz who found his once lost
shining character and is now
a practicing wizard of magic
at the service of Ozma and Oz.
Ozma has two main rules for the citizens
of Oz… Friendship
is the most highest valued quality and
Do no magic without permission.
Friendship solves most problems, but for those
too arrogant in practicing unlicensed magic –
wicked witches, evil magicians and the ignorant,
a drop of water from the Fountain of Forgetfulness
is on hand to give law breakers another chance
to learn love in place of power.
Ozma has had her difficulties in travels
and adventures in and out of Oz,
but friends like Dorothy, the Scarecrow,
the Tinman, the Wizard, Glinda the Good Witch,
and so many others will risk themselves
for her, as she does for them.
When I see Ozma riding by on her steed,
the Wooden Sawhorse, she brought to life,
I stand by ready to help her, for that has been
her gift to Ozians throughout the land,
the joy of reaching out a hand to friend and
stranger alike, in service to the other.
©2025 Carl Scott Harker, author of
Frankenstein’s Monster in Oz |
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