Harvard Institute of Politics Hosts Drag Show to ‘Drag Out the Vote’

Harvard Votes Challenge and the Institute of Politics Gender and Sexuality Coalition hosted a drag show on Wednesday to encourage students to vote in the 2024 elections.

The event – titled Drag Out the Vote – was organized in collaboration with the Queer Students Association, and Harvard Undergraduate Queer Advocates.

Saswato Ray ’25, who serves as one of the IOP’s Directors of Diversity and Engagement, said the goal of the event was to encourage students to engage with the role LGBTQ+ issues in the election.

“This is our effort at the creation of a space for people to not only get acquainted with the issues at stake in the coming election — particularly in relation to queer and LGBTQ rights — but also build community and spread joy through a drag show,” Ray said.

Diego Garcia Blum, director for the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights, said the event being held in Lowell House was particularly significant given the history of homophobia of former University President Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Class of 1877.

“Students’ lives were destroyed — their own lives and their futures were basically ended just because they were gay,” Blum said. “But we are here having a drag show at Lowell.”

Rosie P. Couture ’26, co-chair of the IOP Gender and Sexuality Coalition, talked about legislation targeting LGBTQ+ rights at the event.

“There have been over 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures this year alone,” Couture said. “I'm from Florida, the home of ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ and also one of the battlegrounds for book banning of books that simply talk about queer identity.”

Lola J. DeAscentiis ’26, legislative director of Harvard Democrats, spoke to the importance of voting, citing her reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion.

“A lot of people never thought Roe v. Wade would get overturned. And here we are,” DeAscentiis, a Crimson Arts editor, said. “It is important that we’re not only on the defensive, but we’re also on the offensive, and we're ready to fight these attacks before they even happen.”

Drag Out the Vote included performances from three local drag queens — Princess Aurora, Forrest Fleur, Candace Persuasion — and singing from Isabel V. S. Wilson ’26, a member of Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Organizers gave out free stamps, envelopes, and voter registration forms to attendees.

“Elections represent a crucial opportunity for LGBTQ+ people and our allies to elect people who are going to advocate for us,” Couture said. “We're not only going to defend LGBTQ+ rights, but expand them.”

—Staff writer Nicole L. Guo can be reached at nicole.guo@thecrimson.com.