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Zorita was a 1940s burlesque dancer known for performing spectacular acts with her two pet boa constrictors, Elmer and Oscar.

She married at age 15 to escape an abusive stepfather, but that relationship fell apart. Desperate for income, she began working at a nudist colony at age 17. There, she met a snake charmer who gifted her the boas and she began performing in nightclubs with them.

Her act was called ‘The Consummation of the Wedding of the Snake.‘ She described the storyline as such: “A gorgeous young maiden is going to be sold into slavery to an ugly old man. Instead, she dances with a snake, gets bitten, and dies.”

After performances, she would visit restaurants and diners with her snakes; sitting them down next to her and feeding them crumbs of food.

She was arrested several times for indecent exposure, and got in trouble with police for leading a 10-ft long bull snake through the streets with a leash. Zorita didn’t mind, calling it “good publicity.”

Spectators in clubs were often afraid of her snakes. One frightened man even pulled a gun on Zorita during her act. Sometimes, she would bring the children of other performers on the floor, and then threaten to throw her snakes at spectators unless they paid the child.

Zorita was a bisexual who was often accompanied on tours by her girlfriends. She claimed that although she stripped for men, she loved women more.

She retired in 1974 to breed Persian cats, and died at the full age of 86.

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Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree…

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“‘7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing.’ I’m booked!”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) dir. Ron Howard

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For those who have trouble reading that:

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!

William Dorsey Swann is the original queen, the original drag mother, the original activist. Tell his story!