Kit O'Connell

kitoconnell@kolektiva.social

They/them type middle-aged queerdo. GLAAD-award nominated journalist. Formerly Digital Editor at the Texas Observer. Disabled with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fibromyalgia" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#fibromyalgia</a>. Also follow <a href="https://federate.social/@oconnell" class="u-url mention">@oconnell</a>Pfp: a smiling white person against a dark bg with wavy brown hair, bushy eyebrows, a very light mustache and a big Irish nose and broad forehead. They are wearing a puffy white blouse, dark red and white scarf and green metal wayfarer glasses. Image by Ivan Flores.

Posts

Post #4309732
Happy Pride Month, y&#39;all!
Post #4309731
New today at Austin Free Press: On Saturday, June 13, Austin #transgender musicians and #drag performers will come together to raise money for gender-affirming surgeries, working to fill a gap in the #healthcare system created by anti-trans sentiment in both the federal and state governments. Christened Tops and Bottoms, the fundraiser, at Swan Dive on Red River Street, grew out of problems Austin musician Theo Nesland faced when trying to get top surgery, gender-affirming plastic surgery to he...
Post #4309730
Holden will never forget the discomfort he felt on his second visit to a #Veterans Affairs’ endocrinologist for gender-affirming care. It was spring of 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic was raging across the globe. The army vet was masked up in a tiny, stuffy exam room, when his endocrinologist asked if she could invite medical students to join them. At first he refused, but he said his medical provider “guilted” him into agreeing: “She closed the door, and (said) ‘this is kind of like for the...
Post #4309729
Just a Sunday afternoon reminder that while you&#39;re online using your single life to dunk on fools, there&#39;s a world full of grass to touch, trees to hug, books to read, lips to kiss, people to high five, and cats to pet.
Post #4309728
In the introduction to the July/August 2026 issue of our magazine, Gus Bova shares his remarks from the MOLLYs about why we keep doing what we do, against the odds ... https://www.texasobserver.org/editors-letter-july-august-2026/ #journalism #Texas
Post #4309727
New at The Barbed Wire: Eight years ago, a moment of humor shared between two women blossomed into a movement for weirdos in North #Texas. In 2018, Haley Ballenger had just moved to Fort Worth from Houston, where her husband had family ties and deep roots but she didn’t know anyone. Casting about for a new social circle, the mother of two joined a book club and hit it off with another mom there like herself. “We were joking one night,” Ballenger recalled. “Yeah, we&#39;re not regular moms,...
Post #4309726
Resisting the urge to write &#39;Elliott Page,&#39; because I&#39;m Stardew Valley-pilled.
Post #4309725
New at The Barbed Wire: All rockstars have at least a little bit of the undead in them, according to Caleb De Casper. “Musicians, true musicians, are vampires,” the #Austin musician explained during an interview with The Barbed Wire before a recent performance. “We&#39;re night people, creatures of the night. We dabble in hedonism, (mind-altering) substances, intense passion and longing that we can&#39;t quite put our finger on.” De Casper is hardly the first person to connect rock sta...
Post #3872543
Amazing things happening in the latest episode of the new ("Real") Infowars...
Post #3865132
Trans girlies who have had bottom surgery ... what supplies or comfort items did you want during recovery, or would have liked to receive from a friend in a gift basket? (I'm literally asking for a friend, no surgeries planned for me ...) #trans #LGBTQIA #transgender #health
Post #1211710
New from me: A #nonprofit that offers vital sexual health services and gender-affirming care to Austin’s #LGBTQ+ community held an emergency fundraiser this week to stave off layoffs. #Austin Sexual Health and Wellness, known as ASHwell, plays a crucial role for local queer and #transgender residents. Its services include testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, support groups for people living with HIV, and affordable access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medication...
Post #986473
New today: Juan Miguel Arredondo believes there’s a spirit of solidarity in San Marcos that sets his Central #Texas college town apart, even as right-wing culture warriors seek to force a wedge between neighbors. “When there’s a crisis, Superman isn’t coming,” Arredondo, 34, told the Texas Observer during a phone interview late last year. “We have to save ourselves, and so that’s what we do.” A fifth-generation native of the region, Arredondo served on the San Marcos Consolidated Independent...
Post #986472
Artist Carter St. Hogan starts all of his performances with an unexpected bit: asking the audience to choose between two mustaches. “I’m a #trans person who still cannot grow a mustache. It’s not in me. I don’t have the genetics,” Hogan explained during an unofficial #SXSW showcase last week at the White Horse, a historic country #music venue and the oldest club in Austin. Hogan, who performs country and folk music as Creekbed Carter, had everyone present vote by applause on two highly speci...
Post #986468
I finished Pantheon on #Netflix last night and I can&#39;t remember seeing a show that felt so psychedelic as the last few episodes of season 2. Best treatment of consciousness uploading as a concept that I&#39;ve seen in #TV sci fi. Kinda messy in places but highly recommended. #sf #media
Post #821255
Pro-tip: #Texas is banning THCA #hemp flower starting on Tuesday, so some shops in the state are offering discounts to clear out their stock right now. #cannabis #law #WarOnDrugs #drugs
Post #683277
@fleur_de_LA I&#39;m still getting over Trump&#39;s soft wet hands today, don&#39;t remind me of deformed feet 😳
Post #683276
@BernieDoesIt @oconnell sorry I never replied to this! I really appreciate that folks enjoyed this and saw their own experiences mirroed in the piece in whatever way
Post #683275
Do you ever think about the fact that YouTube is a horrid platform (from a technical and policy perspective) for watching 4 hour long deep dives into anything, and yet.
Post #683274
@Unixbigot exactly this! &quot;Oh it&#39;s fine, just the 10th time I lost my place in this Hbomberguy epic&quot; 😒
Post #683273
Y&#39;all were (not) waiting on the edge of your seats so here&#39;s my #music top list from #Tidal. Top 10: 1. Chappell 2. Kesha 3. Marina 4. SOPHIE 5. Sarah, the Illstrumentalist 6. Princess Nokia 7. Orville Peck 8. A Giant Dog 9. Fka Twigs 10. Charli XCX
Post #683272
“The Bible tells us that love is patient and love is kind, and it doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it is slow to anger, it’s not proud … yada yada yada, right? I’m reading this to remind the people that abuse those words, that abuse the words of love … the words of togetherness, that love is the only motherfucking way.” On Sunday in Austin, 10 couples from around #Texas (&amp; Oklahoma!) got married or renewed their vows in a joyous, defiant act of #queer celebration and resistance, the Big...
Post #683271
True facts with Kit! Did you know that humans actually invented the em dash and are fully capable of using it without AI?
Post #683270
Finch&#39;s arch nemesis is the Duolingo owl.
Post #683269
Watching Reddit turn on ICE is interesting. Everything from porn to cute cat subreddits posting anti-ICE messages. Sorry, not sorry to ICE nazis who like to look at cats with curled tails or cuckolding or whatever without being reminded that you&#39;re evil.
Post #683268
@RandomOxen here&#39;s one! a bunch of others have reposted this post too. https://www.reddit.com/r/catbongos/comments/1qm2rl2/if_you_still_support_trumpice_even_slightly_youre/
Post #683267
New at The Barbed Wire: A #TikTok video with more than 100,000 views showed Kaleb Blain, a 35-year old #trans man and pitmaster, standing at a folding table gesturing to a plate of freshly prepared chickens, ready for the BBQ smoker. The caption read “politics and cooking don’t mix.” But then the video cut away to a series of photos of the late Anthony Bourdain, the infamously outspoken, unapologetically progressive celebrity chef. The text then read, “Momma said it was OK,” as Lukas Graham’s...
Post #683266
For The Barbed Wire: Two years after the #Texas anti-DEI law went into effect, I used online research and hours of interviews with nonprofit workers — along with current and former students — to create a broad survey of the damage caused by this law. In brief, ❌ At least 12 resource centers that either specialized in LGBTQ+ student life, or offered services and programs tailored to their needs, have shut down ❌ More than 100 faculty and staff that supported LGBTQ+ people and other margi...
Post #683265
Reading Heated Rivalry in line to vote and suddenly I&#39;m like oh no I can&#39;t get to the phone call from Russia scene in public. 😭
Post #683264
My latest at The Barbed Wire: It’s hard to ignore Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when they come crashing into your neighborhood. It’s become the topic of conversation in #Austin’s North Loop, Reilly, a 42-year-old #transgender resident, told The Barbed Wire one February evening from a graffiti-covered picnic table in the grass behind Epoch, the neighborhood’s beloved 24-hour coffee shop. “I think when people are confronted with the realities — in their face — of what our immigr...
Post #683263
New at The Barbed Wire: In theory, being #transgender shouldn’t matter when it comes to #voting. But when it comes to transgender rights in #Texas, things often don’t go the way they should. “The way that it’s supposed to work is that no one is supposed to be denied the opportunity to vote based on their appearance,” Ash Hall told The Barbed Wire by phone. As a policy and advocacy strategist on #LGBTQ+ rights at the ACLU of Texas, it’s Hall’s job to track and oppose attacks on the rights of...