William Dorsey Swann's story is remarkable. One unfortunate side effect: No images of him are known to exist, so people are now consistently sharing later photos of another performer without naming that person or mentioning his story. The photograph shows the American vaudeville duo Gregory and Brown, who caused a sensation when they introduced the cake walk to Paris in 1902. Film pioneer Louis Lumière even made a short of their act.
@michaeltnewyorknights84132 жыл бұрын
Thank you for that information!
@21stcenturyjesuschrist852 жыл бұрын
BUCK STATUS: BROKEN
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
Of course, people have dressed differently throughout history which alludes to drag practice, but William Dorsey Swann was the first person to self-identify as a "queen of drag" and became a pioneer of modern ballroom culture. This comment section needs to give credit where it's due. We likely would not have RuPaul's Drag Race without Swann.
@Mrxsiful3 жыл бұрын
It's the revisionist history for me. To assert that Dorsey was the very first is incorrect and we need to honor our history. It's the same distortion when people lie and say that Marsha P Johnson threw the first brick at Stonewall. Telling anything but the true story is a shame on those who came before us.
@quans17702 жыл бұрын
@@Mrxsiful then who was the first?
@Mrxsiful2 жыл бұрын
@@quans1770 Drag stands for Dressed As Girl in Shakespearean theatre.
@GreenNotes0072 жыл бұрын
No that’s not true and I’m happy that’s not true
@whayes8084 Жыл бұрын
Didn’t a Roman emperor dress in drag. Elagabalus?
@kamilahgriggs515 Жыл бұрын
This would make a great movie. I would love to see this story on screen
@koryspots7656 Жыл бұрын
Yes that's what I'm saying!!
@filaspeaks1094 Жыл бұрын
it would be another slave r@pe movie, thats what they are leaving out, william dorsey swann was R@ped while he was a slave and this drag lifestyle was due to being a victim of white supremacy just like all issues with black people!!
@toebeans39854 ай бұрын
@@filaspeaks1094Sigh.
@ThatGuyGabeToo3 жыл бұрын
This is all lies, Lady Bunny was well into her 30’s and performing in backdoor alleys 20 years before all of this took place...
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
Did you watch the video? Lady Bunny was not even born yet
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
Swann was born in 1858
@ThatGuyGabeToo3 жыл бұрын
@@aliceswan6487 Woosh... I think the joke went way over your head... 🙄...
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
@@ThatGuyGabeToo Oops my b.
@kiaracapellan54983 жыл бұрын
Lmao I'm screaming yall leave lady bunny alone
@emmystarlight3 жыл бұрын
He was wayyyyyyyy ahead of his time,what a couragous man he was,is there more known about the rest of his life,what he did when he was older?
@dy46302 жыл бұрын
Courageous…not so much
@david.walters3 жыл бұрын
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@albertmorris61622 жыл бұрын
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@jaynellioriginal51602 жыл бұрын
🤍🫶🏾
@Jenjen-qc5eq3 жыл бұрын
Shakespeare used he phrases “enter Dressed Resembling a Girl” or “enter Dressed As Girl” in his plays as notes for male actors, which later evolved into "drag".
@sincerelyimodel3 жыл бұрын
Shakespeare was acting a role, Swann lived that life, two different things.
@Jenjen-qc5eq3 жыл бұрын
@@sincerelyimodel No Shakespear was NOT acting a role he was a playwriter, not an actor, I am explaining the etymology of the word 'drag', ie where the word 'drag' originally came from not whether or not Shakespeare was performing as a drag queen, which he wasn't. During Elizabethan times women were not allowed to perform on stage so young men were used to performing the female roles hence the term 'dressed as a girl, ie the abbreviation of this term is 'drag'. UK
@sincerelyimodel3 жыл бұрын
@@Jenjen-qc5eq Sweetheart, everything you are saying here i'm very much aware of,so you're saying he was not an actor he was a playwright but yet he dressed in female clothing and put on shows, well i call that acting, if i know what acting is, yes he was also a playwright and i'm also aware of some of his sayings that we use today, I believe the confusion comes with the change in times of what a drag queen is now to back then, cause from the 70's on to now drags live their lives as women and are considered transgender women even without female parts, back then it was specifically for entertainment, which it also is used for today, but now it's a lifestyle not something for recreation.
@sincerelyimodel3 жыл бұрын
@Marissa Coles He is bringing up the etymology while trying to discredit the black person that BBC deemed the original cause he refuse to accept the truth, it must be white for him, now that may not be relevant to you and you may find it educational but I find truth more educational.
@QuatMan Жыл бұрын
SO glad so much of our Black American history is so well documented, since it is so often coopted by different people.
@joeyv20086 ай бұрын
Swan was Big Mikes mentor as a young boy.😂
@samy24413 ай бұрын
Great story!! I learned something new today
@jessicam3555 Жыл бұрын
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 love this. I hope Swann is smiling 😊 as freely himself, being recognized and celebrated (as he should).
@silversweet92113 жыл бұрын
I cannot wait to read this. Anyone have a publication date yet?
@gilangsetyawibawa1853 жыл бұрын
If William Dorsey Swann gets a biopic, he should be played by RuPaul, Billy Porter, or Todrick Hall!
@moonchart3 жыл бұрын
Hmm.. I love ru but don’t think she has the acting chops tbh. Billy would be great though!
@srumi77882 жыл бұрын
@@moonchart only billy
@ChewyRocksandiscute2 жыл бұрын
no todrick hall is toxic af. racist, doesn’t pay his back up dancers or pay people for gigs. just a trash human being.
@jaynellioriginal51602 жыл бұрын
Billy Porter would serve 🙌🏽
@pantoponrosegoatoe41292 жыл бұрын
I want a movie about this!! ❤️
@2020BookwormАй бұрын
Get ready for a tell all unauthorized bio.
@iloveschicken6527 Жыл бұрын
Demon clowns!
@blockfish51633 жыл бұрын
0:22 Marcus Rashford
@yasinradee2 ай бұрын
And it pisses me that "they" never mention William when talking about black gay history. Its always Stonewall.
@dawnwallace435 Жыл бұрын
Rome... this is all I should have to write
@iloveschicken6527 Жыл бұрын
Amen!
@blacksocial992 жыл бұрын
Black Americans are AMAZING. Every sub group. We come from LEGACY!!! So proud of our LGBTQ community ♥️🇺🇸✊🏾
@GreenNotes0072 жыл бұрын
Speak for yourself we because I’m black to do not all agree with this type of stance so please stop saying we like it’s a majority stance it’s truly not
@queenofhearts41692 жыл бұрын
Not first black drag queen. But first drag queen 💕
@bruto223 жыл бұрын
title is misleading , during Shakespeare's time there were alot of *dragqueens* since no female actors at the time..so not really historically accurate. not sure if Asia did the same earlier or not.
@ieshamartinez79613 жыл бұрын
Exactly
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
Swann is a pioneer of modern drag culture. Being a drag queen is different than just dressing differently for an acting role. There's an entire drag/ballroom culture that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century.
@aliceswan64873 жыл бұрын
Swann was the first person to refer to themself as a "queen of drag"
@Sarahlancey3 жыл бұрын
It is not misleading 🤦🏽♀️ Clearly this is about modern Drag... Do you need your hand to be held to?
@sincerelyimodel3 жыл бұрын
Acting a role is just acting, Swann actually lived that life, was beaten and Jailed many time for it unlike actor Shakespeare, you just can't accept that a black queen started the whole thing, well just google who was the first drag queen in history, not the first actor to put on female clothes, does that make all the actors who played roles in female clothes drag queens? it's simple, two very different things.
@monicapalma2 жыл бұрын
Everyone can do drag, drag is for everyone of any gender and sexual orientation :)
@annabell33852 жыл бұрын
If a drag queen is a female impersonator how can a female be a drag queen?
@user-su4lw7mk3p Жыл бұрын
@@annabell3385 I believe it’s because it’s over the top feminine clothing and style, so women and men can do it, but men are more likely to be considered a drag queen.
@HenryJ1646 ай бұрын
This is absurd, really the world first, after he was used by his yt master that spirit was in him.
@chrissystewart6268 Жыл бұрын
Wow I didn't know that
@SuperJacob19893 жыл бұрын
We should celebrate her but not in this woke fashion and propaganda way this video is stating, even before Shakespeare, Kabuki theatre of Japan had many adored female impersonators and drag queens. Were in a time now where everyone is handing out Answers for unasked questions... QUESTION EVERYTHING AT ALL TIMES! Question authority, question research, question people in power. Don't be fooled.
@TraiHarder3 жыл бұрын
Kabuki theater actors are NOT drag queens Kabuki is something entirely different than modern drag culture. Just because one dresses up like a woman to perform does NOT make that person a drag queen.
@isafauxmystrahsmith94152 жыл бұрын
Trai Harder they are purposely missing that he is saying, he was the first DOCUMENTED to REFER to himself as a QUEEN.
@JazzSoulMetal5 ай бұрын
Woke??? This is far from woke outside of just being informative
@santi00672 жыл бұрын
Drag Race?
@memofromessex3 жыл бұрын
I find drag artists terrifying like clowns, but the bravery of this guy is to be commended.
@ChewyRocksandiscute2 жыл бұрын
I doubt he was the first “drag queen” or even invented the term drag. People have been dressing up in different clothes for forever. Y’all too much.
@tiffanybrown1533 Жыл бұрын
Just like they don't know.... YOU DONT KNOW EITHER
@kennyhumble3699 Жыл бұрын
He's the first that we all now, know of, so stop hating 😁
@thekalenichannel1812 Жыл бұрын
He's the first that used the word drag to describe it
@davidbuzzin4262 жыл бұрын
👎DEMON CLOWNS 👿 barely 1% look as good or better than woman & have any actual talent......please leave young children alone in school discussions, etc.......its too creepy.......❤GOD BLESS ALL XO
@kennyhumble3699 Жыл бұрын
Your the only demon here 🤡, why'd you even click on the vid? An for them not to look good, alot of men and supposedly straight men want them 😁, an it's always been this way 😉
@kamariatoure422 жыл бұрын
I wish black people could see other lgbtq black people as black first I mean really were all the same! Nobody else knows what it's like to be us whether you are gay or straight, queen or King. How can we not show love to an ancestor that was a slave no matter what!
@Robert-tt8tx3 ай бұрын
I don’t like the title it’s an accurate there were drag queens before this quite literally well documented in Greece and Asia in specific China
@icannot11042 ай бұрын
Lmao you are in denial sis. 😂 she made the term drag queen dressing as a woman isn’t drag. 🥱
@icannot11042 ай бұрын
You just hate knowing a black person created drag, the same way you hate seeing a black person carrying drag on their back.
@michaelpetrovich53532 жыл бұрын
This is something blacks can be proud of.
@firandcurly842 жыл бұрын
I mischievously agree. More so black men can be very, very proud.( sarcasm)
@kumajoey60312 жыл бұрын
@@firandcurly84 are you coming from DZ' channel lol?