QueeriesByJesse

Imagine being a black, gay drag queen in the 1800s after being born into enslavement AND having the style and cachè to throw soirées that the girls had to come to! That’s why I don’t want to hear this “we’re not our ancestors stuff.” You’re right!

From The Very Black Project Page- William Dorsey Swann was a gay liberation activist. Born into slavery in 1858, he was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a “queen of drag”. Imagine the queenery of this icon.

He was a slave in Hancock, Maryland and was freed by Union soldiers after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. During the 1880s and 1890s, he organized a series of balls in Washington, D.C. He called himself the “queen of drag”. Most of the attendees his gatherings were men who were former slaves, and were gathering to dance in their satin and silk dresses. William was arrested in police raids numerous times,including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888. In 1896, he was falsely convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail for “keeping a disorderly house” (running a brothel). After his sentencing, he requested a pardon from President Grover Cleveland. This request was denied, but but he was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community’s right to gather.

He was known to have been close with Pierce Lafayette and Felix Hall, two men who had also both been slaves and who formed the first known male same-sex relationship between enslaved Americans.

When William stopped organizing and participating in drag events, his brother continued to make costumes for the drag community. Two of his brothers had also been active participants in his drag balls.

Imagine how intelligent and ambitious this man had to be to come up with drag balls in the 1800s! Imagine how many terrible concepts he had to unlearn by himself to be a confident gay black man who does drag in the 1800s! Imagine how courageous he had to be to fight for lgbt people as a former slave in America in the 1800s!

Coming soon: MyTransHealth, an app connecting trans people to knowledgeable, reliable and affordable healthcare providers. 

Also, since most girls avoid physical contact with men they’re not related to, please do not hug them, but rather shoo the offender away if you can, or at least escort the girl to a safe place. You can still offer words of encouragement and support. Furthermore, understand that the victim may not be very welcoming towards you because she’ll obviously be shaken, and won’t know where you are coming from. If that’s the case, please still give her something to cover herself (hijab is very important, think of it as someone ripping your shirt off) and stand some distance away until you are sure she’s in safe hands.

but you know what? as a white, educated, middle class, cis-presenting, able-bodied, Christian, American natural-born citizen, i get the choice to not think about that shit. it’s an option for me to sit back and not think about it and live my life.

it’s not a choice for folks who are oppressed. 

people of color, queer folks, gender non-conforming folks, undocumented folk, immigrants, homeless folks, lower class folks, folks of religions not supported by the dominant culture, disabled folks, and others – these people don’t get the choice to not think about the fact that they, in their very existence, are contrary to the cultural standards and structures we live in. people of color don’t get to not think about/deal with racism. queer folks don’t get to not think about/deal with homophobia. trans and gender non-conforming folks don’t get to not think about/deal with transphobia. undocumented folks don’t get to not think about/deal with xenophobia. disabled folks don’t get to not think about/deal with ableism.

friends, we need to fucking shut up. and by we, i’m talking to folks with privilege. i might be queer as fuck and not want to discuss my gender, but i benefit from enormous amounts of privilege in this country and i am talking to all those white people, straight people, middle class people, etc etc etc. you know who you are. you do. even if you don’t want to admit it.