Hoffman said during the film's production that he felt like he knew Dorothy, his alter ego, and women identified with her, too. Costumer Jennifer Nichols watched one scene in which Dorothy, frustrated at being called pet names like "Tootsie" and "sweetie" by the director, blows up at him. "Now Alan is always Alan," she says. "Tom's always Tom and John's always John. I have a name, too. It's Dorothy." Nichols told Hoffman afterwards, "Oh, Dusty, that's it, that's just what we go through, that's just how we feel."
