The former slave who became the world's first drag queen

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The former slave who became the world's first drag queen - BBC REEL

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BBC Global

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 120

@JDDoyle-yr4jm 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@michaeltnewyorknights8413 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for that information!

@21stcenturyjesuschrist85 2 жыл бұрын

BUCK STATUS: BROKEN

@aliceswan6487 3 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.

@Mrxsiful 3 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.

@quans1770 2 жыл бұрын

@@Mrxsiful then who was the first?

@Mrxsiful 2 жыл бұрын

@@quans1770 Drag stands for Dressed As Girl in Shakespearean theatre.

@GreenNotes007 2 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!!

@toebeans3985 4 ай бұрын

@@filaspeaks1094Sigh.

@ThatGuyGabeToo 3 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...

@aliceswan6487 3 жыл бұрын

Did you watch the video? Lady Bunny was not even born yet

@aliceswan6487 3 жыл бұрын

Swann was born in 1858

@ThatGuyGabeToo 3 жыл бұрын

@@aliceswan6487 Woosh... I think the joke went way over your head... 🙄...

@aliceswan6487 3 жыл бұрын

@@ThatGuyGabeToo Oops my b.

@kiaracapellan5498 3 жыл бұрын

Lmao I'm screaming yall leave lady bunny alone

@emmystarlight 3 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?

@dy4630 2 жыл бұрын

Courageous…not so much

@david.walters 3 жыл бұрын

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@albertmorris6162 2 жыл бұрын

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@jaynellioriginal5160 2 жыл бұрын

🤍🫶🏾

@Jenjen-qc5eq 3 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".

@sincerelyimodel 3 жыл бұрын

Shakespeare was acting a role, Swann lived that life, two different things.

@Jenjen-qc5eq 3 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

@sincerelyimodel 3 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.

@sincerelyimodel 3 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.

@joeyv2008 6 ай бұрын

Swan was Big Mikes mentor as a young boy.😂

@samy2441 3 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).

@silversweet9211 3 жыл бұрын

I cannot wait to read this. Anyone have a publication date yet?

@gilangsetyawibawa185 3 жыл бұрын

If William Dorsey Swann gets a biopic, he should be played by RuPaul, Billy Porter, or Todrick Hall!

@moonchart 3 жыл бұрын

Hmm.. I love ru but don’t think she has the acting chops tbh. Billy would be great though!

@srumi7788 2 жыл бұрын

@@moonchart only billy

@ChewyRocksandiscute 2 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.

@jaynellioriginal5160 2 жыл бұрын

Billy Porter would serve 🙌🏽

@pantoponrosegoatoe4129 2 жыл бұрын

I want a movie about this!! ❤️

@2020Bookworm Ай бұрын

Get ready for a tell all unauthorized bio.

@iloveschicken6527 Жыл бұрын

Demon clowns!

@blockfish5163 3 жыл бұрын

0:22 Marcus Rashford

@yasinradee 2 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!

@blacksocial99 2 жыл бұрын

Black Americans are AMAZING. Every sub group. We come from LEGACY!!! So proud of our LGBTQ community ♥️🇺🇸✊🏾

@GreenNotes007 2 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

@queenofhearts4169 2 жыл бұрын

Not first black drag queen. But first drag queen 💕

@bruto22 3 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.

@ieshamartinez7961 3 жыл бұрын

Exactly

@aliceswan6487 3 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.

@aliceswan6487 3 жыл бұрын

Swann was the first person to refer to themself as a "queen of drag"

@Sarahlancey 3 жыл бұрын

It is not misleading 🤦🏽‍♀️ Clearly this is about modern Drag... Do you need your hand to be held to?

@sincerelyimodel 3 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.

@monicapalma 2 жыл бұрын

Everyone can do drag, drag is for everyone of any gender and sexual orientation :)

@annabell3385 2 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.

@HenryJ164 6 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

@SuperJacob1989 3 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.

@TraiHarder 3 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.

@isafauxmystrahsmith9415 2 жыл бұрын

Trai Harder they are purposely missing that he is saying, he was the first DOCUMENTED to REFER to himself as a QUEEN.

@JazzSoulMetal 5 ай бұрын

Woke??? This is far from woke outside of just being informative

@santi0067 2 жыл бұрын

Drag Race?

@memofromessex 3 жыл бұрын

I find drag artists terrifying like clowns, but the bravery of this guy is to be commended.

@ChewyRocksandiscute 2 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

@davidbuzzin426 2 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 😉

@kamariatoure42 2 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!