Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties [Paperback]

Scholarship and performance combine to show how drag can be a blueprint for critique, care, teaching, and worldmaking. 
 
Lessons in Dragbrings to life a vibrant and thought-provoking dialogue between scholar Kareem Khubchandani and his drag persona LaWhore Vagistan. Beginning with an intimate interview, the book unfolds in alternating chapters where the two exchange insights, stories, and critiques. 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. Together, their reflections and conversations weave a compelling tapestry of drag’s instructive power. Witty, bold, and deeply personal,Lessons in Dragis both an invitation to explore drag as a practice and a celebration of its transformative potential.Kareem Khubchandaniis associate professor of theater, dance, and performance studies and associate professor of studies in race, colonialism, and diaspora at Tufts University. He is the author ofDecolonize DragandIshtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlifeand the coeditor ofQueer Nightlife.LaWhore Vagistanis your favorite aunty’s favorite aunty—always over-dressed, over-educated, and over-opinionated. Her music videos, including “Sari” and “There’s a Stranger in My House,” have been featured at international film festivals. In 2009, she cofounded the queer South Asian party Jai Ho! in Chicago, and in 2023, she launched Dragistan, an annual South Asian drag showcase in New York.