Harvard University has drawn criticism from conservatives after announcing that Tufts professor Kareem Khubchandani — who performs and occasionally lectures in drag as “LaWhore Vagistan” — will serve as a visiting associate professor in its Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality department.
The visiting professorship was established through an endowment from members of the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus, the university’s LGBTQ alumni group. It was created to bring in scholars focused on issues related to sexual minorities and sexuality.
Khubchandani is scheduled to teach two courses during the 2025-2026 academic year: “Queer Ethnography,” in the fall semester, and “RuPaulitics: Drag, Race, and Desire” in the spring semester, focusing on the cultural influence of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Khubchandani is the author of two books on drag, gender, and sexuality — Decolonizer Drag and the award-winning Ishtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife — with a third, Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties, due out this fall. He previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
In a 2015 self-interview with his drag persona, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, Khubchandani explained the origin of his stage name. “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.”
Although Khubchandani was hired in July, news of his appointment gained traction just days after President Donald Trump unfroze $2.4 billion in federal grants to Harvard, following the university’s agreement to launch new trade schools offering alternatives to a traditional liberal arts education.
Harvard has not responded to media requests for comment about Khubchandani’s hiring, and the professor has not commented publicly on his appointment.
Reaction on the social media platform X — where conservatives often criticize LGBTQ identity, drag, and gender fluidity — was largely adverse. Many responses were more mocking than outright hostile, with users expressing bemusement or condescension toward Harvard.
“As the reputation of Harvard university is in freefall, the once great institution has decided it would be a great idea to destroy themselves even quicker, by hiring Kareem Khubchandani as an associate Professor,” wrote another.
In the New York Post, opinion columnist Kirsten Fleming wrote that she and many conservatives were less outraged than amused, viewing Harvard’s decision as further evidence of eroding academic standards.
“[M]ost right-wingers found it incredibly funny and double-checked to ensure they weren’t being duped by the Babylon Bee,” Fleming wrote.
Fleming added that little from academia shocks her anymore, arguing that many colleges have embraced the trappings of so-called “woke” ideology.
“The real lesson of Vagistan’s class has nothing to do with drag, nightlife, or globalization: It reinforces that it was a grave mistake to allow a generation of race and gender studies graduates to export their campus culture to the corporate world over the last decade,” she added. “This isn’t worthy scholarship, it’s indulgence. The next time there’s a chorus for student loan forgiveness, remember that our top schools are employing people like Vagistan, who teach academic claptrap.”
The founders of the legendary Miss Adams Morgan Pageant talk about how D.C.'s largest drag event has evolved over 37 years.
By John Riley Photographs from the 1998 to 2024 pageants courtesy of the Dupont Social Club
October 1, 2025
"The whole Miss Adams Morgan Pageant really started by accident," says Steven Brandt, a board member of the Dupont Social Club, which organizes the annual drag pageant, now a fixture on many D.C. residents' calendars.
Brandt recalls that he and his now-husband, Rick Boylan, were celebrating Halloween in drag with friends when, on their way to a piano bar, walking through Dupont Circle, they were accosted by a group of teenagers.
"It was raining," recalls Brandt. "They ripped my wig off and threw it in a puddle, spewing all kinds of hatefulness. After that, we decided we needed a place to be able to go in drag if we wanted. It was maybe only the first or second time we'd been in drag, but I was so enraged by the experience that I kept saying over and over, 'We've got to...This isn't right.'"
A rainbow crosswalk in Columbus, Ohio -- part of a federal road safety study -- was defaced when an unknown vandal poured a black tar-like substance across its brightly colored panels.
The incident comes as rainbow crosswalks nationwide face political pushback, with Republican leaders including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis portraying them as dangerous distractions on the road.
City officials learned of the vandalism on August 25 after a Reddit post and calls to 311 alerted them to the damage. The crosswalk, at Lane and Waldeck Avenues near Ohio State University, had each of its colored panels smeared with the black substance.
Social conservatives are claiming vindication for their views after Robin Westman, the 23-year-old behind the August 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, was identified as transgender by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an X post.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, Westman fired dozens of rounds into the church during a morning Mass attended by students from the affiliated Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, as reported by The Associated Press.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.