The Cut / New York Magazine: I Got Facial Feminization Surgery — But Kept My Big Nose
February 10, 2025
In New York Magazine’s “as told to,” format, Shahamat wrote from the first person perspective of Armana Khan who sought to protect her ethnic features while undergoing facial feminization surgery.
Interview Magazine: “I Like to Be Ill- Defined”: Director Payal Kapadia on All We Imagine as Light
December 27, 2024
Shahamat interviewed Payal Kapadia about her history-making film All We Imagine As Light and her perspective on the Hollywood awards buzz surrounding her film.
POPSUGAR (PS): How Sarah J. Maas Fans Built a World of Their Own
December 3, 2024
Shahamat interviewed social media leaders within the Sarah J. Maas fandom and detailed how they have found community with each other and why they’re drawn in so deeply into the world of Sarah J. Maas novels.
POPSUGAR (PS): This Diwali, Aditya Madiraju Is Celebrating His Queer and South Asian Identities
October 30, 2024
Shahamat interviewed queer South Asian makeup artist Aditya Madiraju about his newly created Diwali traditions and how he’s finding a space for queer inclusive beauty while celebrating the cultural holiday.
POPSUGAR (PS): Designer Phillip Lim Believes the “Best Medicine Against Hate Is Joy”
October 7, 2024
Shahamat interviewed fashion designer Phillip Lim on the 20th anniversary of his fashion line, discussing how to use art to fight the pain of adversity and what New York City means to him.
POPSUGAR (PS): The $4,334 Cost of Competing in the Miss Fire Island Pageant
August 27, 2024
Ahead of the 2024 annual Miss Fire Island Pageant, Shahamat followed competing queen, Angelique Imperious’ journey to securing the funds needed to participate.
Them: I Thought I’d Have to Top My Whole Life — Until I Discovered Anal Botox Injections
August 1, 2024
In a personal essay, Shahamat detailed how Botox injections helped him in his journey to comfortable bottoming.
POPSUGAR (PS): Katie Austin Picks Favorites Among Her Many Viral Recipes
July 29, 2024
Shahamat interviewed fitness celebrity and entrepreneur Katie Austin about her viral recipes that prioritize both health and flavor.
POPSUGAR (PS): Mandy Moore on the Cost of Kindness
June 26, 2024
In a profile for PS, Shahamat interviewed actress and singer Mandy Moore about her perspective on constantly being labeled as “kind” and the impact this label has on her career.
Teen Vogue: Brandon Teena Was Failed By the American Legal System and the Media
June 24, 2024
In a reported piece for Teen Vogue’s “Overlooked History” column, Shahamat re-visited the tragic murder of transgender young adult Brandon Teena. In the piece, Shahamat analyzed the American carceral’s impact on transgender youth and how certain legal frameworks have historically failed them.
POPSUGAR (PS): For Cyrus Veyssi, Making TikToks With Their Dad Is a “Healing Journey”
June 14, 2024
In a Father’s Day 2024 feature, Shahamat interviewed Iranian-American content creator Cyrus Veyssi about how platforming them and their dad’s relationship on social media has supported their journey in embracing the full extent of their queer and non-binary identity.
Business Insider: This Ramadan, Queer and Transgender Muslims Made Their Own Community
April 17, 2024
For Business Insider’s feature 2024 Ramadan piece, Shahamat chronicled how queer and transgender Muslims who can sometimes feel unsafe in communal Muslim gatherings forged their own community this Ramadan. Shahamat also served as the artistic director for the accompanying editorial shoot.
Vogue India: Girls Will Be Girls understands how hard it is to love your mom at 16
February 5, 2024
The only Indian film to premiere at Sundance 2024, Girls Will Be Girls earned the coveted Audience Award for the World Cinematic Dramatic Competition. Shahamat reviewed the film for Vogue India.
Teen Vogue: Malia Obama Shines in Directorial Debut at 40th Sundance Film Festival
January 19, 2024
While attending Sundance Film Festival 2024, Shahamat covered Malia Obama’s directorial debut that premiered there. In a mixed review/profile, the piece includes quotes from Malia’s Q&A at the festival and Shahamat’s impression of the short film, The Heart.
The Nation: Muslim Americans Are Facing a Brutal Wave of Islamophobia
November 22, 2023
Following a massive surge in violent Islamophobia, Shahamat interviewed several Muslim Americans living throughout the United States and tracked how they’ve changed their behaviors to respond to the growing unsafe climate.
Teen Vogue: On the Future of Ballroom, From the World’s Oldest Ballroom House
June 29, 2023
At the height of Beyoncé’s worldwide Renaissance tour – which was largely inspired by New York City ballroom culture, Shahamat spoke with the newest members and House Mother of the House of LaBeija, the world’s first ballroom house. To him, they shared the aspects of ballroom culture that will never enter the mainstream and forever be localized.
Teen Vogue: 50 Years Since the UpStairs Lounge Fire, the Deadliest Attack on Queer People of the 20th Century
June 27, 2023
50 years after the UpStairs Lounge fire, Shahamat interviewed families of the victims of the fire and uncovered how the fight for their justice continues to live on today. He spoke with the author of the city of New Orleans’ legislation to formally apologize to the victims and analyzed the tragedy’s relevance to Southern queer activism today.
New York Magazine / The Cut: How Did Pride Get So Damn Expensive?
June 24, 2023
*This story appeared as the cover story for New York Magazine’s digital homepage during 2023 Pride weekend*
*This story appeared as the cover story for The Cut’s June 26, 2023 digital newsletter*
*This story was among the top 5 most read stories for The Cut in June 2023*
After noticing that Pride parties in NYC were charging upwards of $300 for entry, Shahamat embarked upon a months-long investigation where he interviewed 32+ queer people attending Pride celebrations across the country. In this feature digital cover story for New York Magazine, he sought to uncover what motivates queer people to attend these parties and how their culture of financial exclusion leads to violent impacts on some of the most marginalized people within the queer and trans community.
them: 7 Ways to Celebrate Pride Beyond Parties and Parades
June 23, 2023
For them, Shahamat wrote about his annual Pride tradition to write love letters to Xulhaz Mannan, a gay Bangladeshi activist who was murdered in 2015 while he was in the midst of planning the nation’s first Pride parade and leading editorial for the nation’s first queer magazine.
Vogue Magazine: Arooj Aftab Found Her Latest Performance Outfit in the Heart of a Palestinian Refugee Camp
June 12, 2023
As the first ever Pakistani Grammy winner, Arooj Aftab, embarked upon her global tour she sought to collaborate with designers whose clothes served a greater purpose like Yasmeen Mjalli of Nöl Collective. In Shahamat’s debut for American Vogue, he followed the story of the custom tailored garment that made its way through a Palestinian refugee camp to Israeli customs and finally to London’s Barbican Hall.
The Nation: Republicans Attacked These Queer Students’ Lives. So They Fought Back.
May 30, 2023
When Kentucky legislators passed a bill that essentially banned queer and trans youth’s identities in the state, Shahamat was introduced to three high school students: Kenzie, Maddy, and Africa who took the fight into their own hands. Shahamat followed how the three students transformed a small discussion at study hall into one of the state’s largest ever rallies to support queer and trans youth in Kentucky.
Vulture: Joyland Had to Fight to Be Seen
April 22, 2023
When the Oscar shortlisted film Joyland was banned for public view by the Pakistani government, Shahamat landed one of the first two interviews writer and director of the film, Saim Sadiq, completed after the film’s initial ban. Although the story was pushed by the editorial team, Shahamat captured Sadiq’s initial feelings about the ban and how the decision by the Pakistani government illuminates the status quo of trans rights throughout the country.
Teen Vogue: Queer Community in the South Is Worth Fighting For
March 30, 2023
At the height of repeated anti-trans and anti-queer legislations propping up in state legislatures across the American South, as a Southerner himself, Shahamat sought out to answer the question “Why do queer people choose to stay in the South?” He interviewed three groundbreaking young queer activists to answer that question.
Refinery29: My Honda Accord Made Me Gay (Personal Essay)
October 13, 2022
As a guest author for Refinery29’s “BLANK made me gay” series, Shahamat reflects on how young queer people in the South often have their first queer experiences in their family’s hand me down cars and how that impacts how queer people navigate privacy in their relationships for the remainder of their lives.
Vogue India: Colourism: A new age of Desi beauty is fighting the ‘fair and lovely’ bias
September 14, 2022
In a challenge to long held biases supporting colorism, Shahamat interviewed dark skinned Desi beauty artists on how they reject the ‘fair and lovely bias’ and embracing techniques that enhance darker skinned features.
them: For Queer Desis, Henna Art is a Form of Political Resistance
July 8, 2022
Shahamat traced the ancestral roots of Henna art in Desi communities (traditionally reserved for cis women) and interviewed queer non-cis women Desis who have discovered a new form of political resistance in the coveted artistic and cultural practice.
Vogue India: These drag queens are using their drag to pay homage to the older Desi women in their lives
June 27, 2022
*This story was one of Vogue India’s top 5 most read stories in June 2022*
For Vogue India’s 2022 Pride edition, Shahamt interviewed three Desi drag queens (including Priyanka, winner of Canada’s Drag Race season 1) on how they use elements of their drag beauty to honor the older Desi women in their lives – many of whom disconnected with them because of their queer identities.
Tulane Hullabaloo: The failure of gay community building in college
May 1, 2020
Shahamat collects experiences of gay men in college and analyzes how competitive dynamics amongst gay men lead to failed experiences of community building on campus.
Tulane Hullabaloo: First-generation college students, our triumphs are still valid (Personal Essay)
April 22, 2020
In this personal essay, Shahamat reflects on the shared experience of first generation college students unable to experience long awaited university graduation ceremonies.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Heartbreak, coronavirus, and the best people I’ve ever known (Personal Essay)
April 7, 2020
*This essay was re-published in the 2020 anthology, Young People of the Pandemic: An Anthology of Stories, Anecdotes, and Poems by 10- to 21-Year-Old Americans*
In this personal essay, Shahamat grapples with the effects of the onset of COVID-19 and how the impact shortened the expected joyous end of his college career. The essay was quoted in the president’s address at the Tulane class of 2020 commencement ceremony.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Racism runs deep in professionalism culture
January 23, 2020
*This story remains in the top 5 most read stories of the Tulane Hullabaloo’s digital history*
While many students of the Tulane student body were beginning their professional search for post-grad jobs and internships, Shahamat penned an essay about how the standard practice of business professionalism is rooted in white supremacy and tactics to keep Brown and Black people out of specific workplaces. The essay draws upon several case studies, data, and personal anecdotes.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Living Lizzo’s truth hurts: The challenges of being an unapologetically fat Black woman
January 16, 2020
At the height of cyberbullying of singer-songwriter Lizzo, Shahamat penned an essay on how attacks on Lizzo and her career are rooted primarily in an intersectional hatred of her fat female Blackness.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Tulane Student Health Center now provides free emergency contraceptives
December 10, 2019
Shahamat broke the news that the Tulane Student Health Center would take over students organizers’ initiative to provide free emergency contraceptives to. the Tulane student body.
Tulane Hullabaloo: SURJ now offering free emergency contraceptives for Tulane community
November 14, 2019
Shahamat broke the news to the student body that there would now be free emergency contraceptives available for the entire Tulane student body and its surrounding community.
Tulane Hullabaloo: ‘I’m from the South’ isn’t an excuse to be racist
November 14, 2019
Through data and political analysis, Shahamat seeks to separate Southern culture and Southern identity from a conceived notion of inherent social backwardness and racism.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Having rich parents isn’t a personality trait
October 16, 2019
In a satirical essay, Shahamat critiques how the influence of generational wealth on Tulane’s campus creates an unequal culture of opportunity and recreation amongst the university’s student body.
Tulane Hullabaloo: The toxic culture of overinvolvement at Tulane
October 2, 2019
*This story appeared on the front page of the print edition of the Tulane Hullabaloo*
Shahamat featured three of Tulane’s most involved students to discuss how a culture that fails to effectively build communities may pressure to students to over-involve themselves beyond their capacity and comfort.
Tulane Hullabaloo: Are all your friends white?
September 4, 2019
*This story appeared on the front page of the print edition of the Tulane Hullabaloo*
*This story remains in the top 10 most read stories of the Tulane Hullabaloo’s digital history*
In Shahamat’s first editorial piece as Intersections editor, he analyzed how friend groups are formed within the first few weeks of college and what their racial homogeneity may imply about individuals’ approaches to anti-racism.
Tulane Hullabaloo: ‘Voir Dire’ fails to make racial impact it needs to
February 13, 2017
In a review of the Tulane theatre department’s ‘Voir Dire’, Shahamat offers a critique of the performance and analyzes how the production participates in the cause for racial justice on Tulane University’s campus.
Shahamat Uddin 