Harvard Hires Drag Queen to Teach ‘RuPaulitics’ Course

Harvard University has appointed drag performer Kareem Khubchandani, known by the stage name LaWhore Vagistan, as the 2025-2026 F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Associate Professor in Studies of Gender and Sexuality, the university announced in a July press release.

Khubchandani, an associate professor at Tufts University, will teach two courses: “Queer Ethnography” in the fall and “RuPaulitics: Drag, Race, and Desire” in the spring, the latter focusing on the television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Khubchandani, who performs as LaWhore Vagistan, integrates his drag persona into his academic work.

Newly announced visiting professor at the vaunted Harvard University Kareem Khubchandani performs drag under the stage name “LaWhore Vagistan.”

In a 2015 self-interview published by Johns Hopkins University Press, he explained the origin of his stage name: “My name is LaWhore Vagistan, my preferred pronouns are ‘she’ or ‘aunty.’ I chose ‘LaWhore’ because my family traces its origins to Pakistan: Lahore is an important city in Pakistan, and, well, I’m a bit of a whore. And Vagistan because I see the subcontinent as one, big, beautiful Vag ... istan. Close your eyes and visualize it: India is the uterus-vagina, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the ovaries, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma, and Bhutan are the fallopian tubes, and Sri Lanka is a little floating labia.”

Kareem Khubchandani is a professor of theater, dance, and performance studies at Tufts University.

Khubchandani’s academic credentials include books such as Decolonize Drag, Ishtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife, and his latest, Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties, which explores how his drag persona shapes his scholarship and performances.

The book is described as a “thought-provoking dialogue between scholar Kareem Khubchandani and his drag persona LaWhore Vagistan … Khubchandani delves into the lessons LaWhore’s drag practice offers about academia — shaping his approaches to research, teaching, and writing — while Vagistan reveals how Khubchandani’s scholarship influences her performances, inspiring her understanding of fashion, music, divas, and aunties.”

The appointment comes days after President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration is “close to finalizing” a deal to restore $2.4 billion in frozen federal grants to Harvard.

The agreement includes Harvard operating a new system of trade schools.

“This would be a giant trade school, or series of trade schools. It would be run by Harvard,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They’d put up $500 million. Interest and everything else will go to that account, meaning, go to the trade school. And you know, it’s a big investment in trade schools done by very smart people, and then their sins are forgiven.”

Once the gold standard of intellectual rigor and prestige, Harvard now opens its hallowed halls to a drag queen whose credentials seem to rest more on body dysphoria and provocative performance than scholarly gravitas.

LaWhore Vagistan’s appointment signals a shift from academic excellence to cultural exhibitionism, where teaching about “RuPaul’s Drag Race” takes precedence over timeless pursuits of truth.