How a former slave became the world’s first drag queenOver 100 years before RuPaul was tel

How a former slave became the world’s first drag queen

Over 100 years before RuPaul was telling us to “sashay away”, William Dorsey Swann, who had been born into slavery in 19th Century America, was making a name for himself as the world’s first self-described “drag queen”.

LGBTQ+ historian Channing Joseph, author of House of Swann, explains how he discovered this forgotten history of one of the earliest efforts at queer resistance and liberation in America.

Visit BBC for the video by Alva French with animation by Dan John