Queer Ancestor Spotlight: William Dorsey Swann

The purpose of these spotlights is not to provide an exhaustive biography of any one figure, but to introduce you to a Queer Ancestor you may not have heard of and give you some highlights about their life. Also, to the best that I can, I’ll provide links to resources (free and for purchase) if you want to learn more about them.

For the inaugural Queer Ancestor Spotlight I want to focus on someone in my own “backyard”: William Dorsey Swann, and early American queer liberation activist and the first self-proclaimed “drag queen.”