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This article is about the journalist. For the 19th-century activist see Dorothea Dix.

Dorothy Dix (November 18, 1870 – December 16, 1951), was the pseudonym of U.S. journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer.

Born in Woodstock, Tennessee, Dix became famous for authoring a newspaper column that gave advice to people suffering personal or emotional problems. Letters in her column were typically addressed "Dear Dorothy", which has become an archetype for advice columns in newspapers, magazines and other printed media.

On her passing in 1951, Dorothy Dix was interred in the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

[edit] In politics

Dorothy Dix's name gave rise to a political term in Australia for a simple question asked of a minister by a backbencher from their own party. Often the question has been written by the minister or their staff, rather than by the questioner. Such a question is often referred to as a "Dorothy Dixer" and is used to give the minister a chance to promote themselves or the work that the government is doing in their area, or to criticise the opposition party's policies, to raise the profile of the backbench member asking the question, or to consume the time available for questioning and thereby avoid tougher questions. The term has been common in Australian politics since the 1950s and is a common and widely accepted tactic used during question time in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The origin of the political term is reputed to have come from Dorothy Dix herself inventing many of the more interesting questions that she answered in her column.