Kit O'Connell
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As seen in:
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and
Mastodon: @oconnell@federate.social
Former Digital Editor @texasobserver. I don't tweet anymore. Email: kitoconnell@pobox.com AVI by @ivanflr
Articles by Kit O'Connell
‘I Feel Like A Hunted Creature’: Rural Trans & Queer Texans React To A Propaganda-Ridden Election
The 2026 midterm elections remain nail-bitingly close in Texas, as the final week of early voting closes, but it’s also an election rife with tension and fear for queer and trans voters. “[Voting] is always a bit scary because, frankly, I don’t like reminding the state of Texas that I exist,” said April Ortiz, a transgender math professor, wife and mother who lives with her family in rural South Texas.
🪞 Seeing myself in Republicans’ hate
❎ Welcome back to Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐, my queer stars! Early voting has begun as Spooky Season reaches its apex. The combination feels surreal this year as we face a monstrous wave of anti-trans propaganda. 🔔 Reminder: this is one of two Texas newsletters offered by The Barbed Wire, and we’ll be covering the midterms in both.
Can Texas Fight HIV In The Trump Era?
This is the second in a series on HIV and LGBTQ+ healthcare in Texas. Read the first part here. A new plan from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) calls for a 50 percent reduction in new HIV cases in Texas by 2031, and for faster diagnosis and treatment of people living with the disease.
👺 Banned books and the monster inside
🌙 The days are getting shorter, but around here we’re always Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐! Welcome back, my queer stars. Today, I’m thinking about what it means to be a monster, in an age when our culture is censored … 🎃 I’m one of those girlies who celebrates Halloween all month long, from October 1st all the way to our horror holy-day. But this isn’t just the start of spooky season; we’re also closing out the annual Banned Books Week, and Texas holds the current national record for book banning.
Thanks To CDC Cutbacks, 13 Texas Nonprofits Lose Millions In HIV Outreach Funding
On the way into the nightclub, you notice a friendly face beckoning you from a table set up in front of a nonprofit’s testing van, along with some cute stickers, key chains, and other free swag to lure you in. And the offer they make is risk free. Why not? you think, it's been a while since I checked my HIV status. Services like these are at risk nationwide.
π Under the bus, again
π₯ Greetings, my queer stars, Welcome back to Big & Bright π β π, your biweekly newsletter about life in queer Texas β¦ where the ground is always shifting under our feet and this time we can't blame fracking. π Want this as a newsletter as soon as it's published? Sign up now! Subscribe to the Big & Bright Newsletter Queer Texas in all its glory — the fight, the joy, and the community politicians wish you couldn't see.
Trans Teen From Rural Texas Forces High School to Change Transphobic Dress Code
In a small Texas town of less than 4,000 people, one transgender teenager fought back against her school district’s transphobic dress code and won. Amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry in our state, the teen known as “Emma Doe” showed that it is possible to successfully push back against bigoted policies and make room for queer and trans young folks to be themselves.
Texas’ First Nonbinary City Council Member Wants To Make Denton More Affordable, Equitable and Safe
Texas just elected its first nonbinary city council member, who is also likely the first openly nonbinary elected public official anywhere in the state. Despite all the challenges facing their city – from AI data centers sucking up resources to a rapidly worsening affordable housing crisis – and even after all the vitriol they faced during their campaign, they still believe in the future of Denton.
✨ Dreaming of a world full of ‘wonderful things’
🎭 Dear queer stars, how can we hang onto art that brings us queer joy? Given all the slings and arrows the world is throwing at us right now, it’s easy to worry for the future of queer creativity.
Interview With a Lone Star Vampire: Caleb De Casper Is Reborn In Darkness
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're night people, creatures of the night.
🫠 The transformative power of being weird
🏳️🌈 My dear queer stars, congrats on making it through Pride Month, and welcome back to Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ 👏! I hope you’ve rehydrated and recovered. Pride may be over, but the discourse never stops, because some folks seemed determined to reheat a very old discussion… ✋ Hold up, before we go further … have you joined The Barbed Wire yet? Please become a member now on our new and improved site! You'll support this newsletter and our reporting on LGBTQ+ Texas.
Meet the ‘Weird Moms’ of Fort Worth Who Embrace Diversity, Acceptance & Joy in North Texas
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're not regular moms, we're cool moms.
📚 Learning from queer history...
🤔 Welcome back, my beloved queer stars, to Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ 👏. Your Aunt/Uncle Kit has more deep thoughts for you, alongside the latest in Texas LGBTQ news. This week I'm wondering … Have you considered the benefits of repeating history? 🙏 We need your support to keep The Barbed Wire alive ... Please become a member now if you haven't joined yet. And a special thanks to Kind Clinic and Texas Health Action for underwriting our first sponsored vertical and our newsletter.
Healthcare for Trans Veterans Was Already Bad, And Under Trump It’s Getting Worse
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.
Years Before the Stonewall Riots, Dallas’ Queer Community Had Its Own Movement
In 1988, the city of Dallas filled in a hole. City council spent half a million dollars to fix a dangerous gap left on a vacant lot by a construction company. Seemingly good news, right? Well, to local LGBTQ+ activists, it was a sign of how little local politicians cared about them. At the time, the AIDS pandemic was tearing through the local gay population.
‘Future Legends.’ Despite So-Called ‘Drag Ban,’ Texas’ Queer Showcases Are Launching Pads for Performers.
In Austin, a city with an abundance of drag shows, one monthly showcase offers a unique platform — and launch pad — for emerging talent. “You get to see future legends get their start, and other people just flourish and find their niche.” That’s how “Big Tits, Bigger Dreams,” or BTBD, was described by co-host and regular performer Reyah Sunshine at this month’s event on May 2.
👀 Pride, like no one is watching
🏳️🌈 Happy Pride Month, my queer stars, and welcome back to Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ 👏. I’m grateful to still be here sharing all the latest news from queer Texas. As long as you keep reading and clicking, we’ll keep publishing this newsletter. Now, let’s talk about celebrating Pride and the importance of being ourselves, in public … 😎 Like what we do? It’d be real cool if you supported our work ... Please become a member now if you haven't joined yet.
Healthcare for Trans Veterans Was Already Bad, And Under Trump It’s Getting Worse
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.
Years Before the Stonewall Riots, Dallas’ Queer Community Had Its Own Movement
In 1988, the city of Dallas filled in a hole. City council spent half a million dollars to fix a dangerous gap left on a vacant lot by a construction company. Seemingly good news, right? Well, to local LGBTQ+ activists, it was a sign of how little local politicians cared about them. At the time, the AIDS pandemic was tearing through the local gay population.
‘Future Legends.’ Despite So-Called ‘Drag Ban,’ Texas’ Queer Showcases Are Launching Pads for Performers.
In Austin, a city with an abundance of drag shows, one monthly showcase offers a unique platform — and launch pad — for emerging talent. “You get to see future legends get their start, and other people just flourish and find their niche.” That’s how “Big Tits, Bigger Dreams,” or BTBD, was described by co-host and regular performer Reyah Sunshine at this month’s event on May 2.
SXSW Used AI-Powered Trademark Tool To Censor Dissent on Instagram
An AI-powered tool designed to target trademark violations on social media was used to silence critics of SXSW, the massive annual tech, music and film conference in Austin, Texas. Each year in March, SXSW takes over Austin. This year, thanks to the demolition of the city’s aging convention center, events sprawled to more locations than usual, from hotel ballrooms to vacant lots.
What It’s Like to Be a Nonbinary Educator in Texas Right Now
Indigo Giles remembers the lonely feeling when they first came out as nonbinary in eighth grade: Neither teachers nor students made much effort to acknowledge their new identity. “I do think that would have made a big difference in my struggle with my mental health and with feeling secure in who I am as a person at a much earlier age,” Giles said in an interview with The Barbed Wire.
‘Proudly Claiming Our Tears’: Fathers Stand Together for Their Trans and Nonbinary Kids
Over the course of filming two documentaries about the fathers of transgender and nonbinary children, Luchina Fisher has watched these families’ rights rapidly erode. “In [2023], we thought things were bad: we were having conversations around safety for our children,” she told the Texas Observer.
Defending the Most Vulnerable in San Marcos
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.
Musician Carter St. Hogan Honed His Trans Identity in Texas Honky-Tonks Before Fighting ICE in Minneapolis
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.
‘Very Real Barriers.’ Trans Voters in Texas Are Worried About Casting Their Ballots.
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.
‘Something’s Different’: LGBTQ+ Texans Are Organizing in Defense of Immigrants
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.
‘Communities Ripped Apart’: On Texas College Campuses, LGBTQ+ Services Have Been Completely Decimated
Dante Stetson recalled getting his first chest binder at the Pride Closet at the University of North Texas in Denton in 2023. He was 18, and it was his freshman year on campus. “My family isn’t supportive of people with transgender identities, and I’ve never been able to buy one and store it at my home,” Stetson, who grew up in rural Texas, told The Barbed Wire in a recent text message.
‘Barbecue Saved My Life’: Meet Waco’s Antifascist Transgender Pitmaster
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.
‘Love is the Only Motherf****** Way’: Big Queer Wedding Party Celebrates LGBTQ+ Joy and Resilience in Texas
At a bustling venue on Sunday, the speakers boomed with a remix of “Stayin’ Alive.” Heather Schenk and Ty Linhardt had traveled from Chickasha, Oklahoma, for the Big Queer Wedding Party in Austin, where ten couples came to get married and renew their vows in the sanctuary of a former Baptist church. Guests stepped carefully around the flowing train of Schenk’s white gown on their way to the bar. The dress’s low-cut back framed her tattoos and long blonde braids.
I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters.
I was probably 13 years old. It was near the end of middle school, during a wintry holiday vacation back home in Connecticut. I was at my best friend Kate’s house, sitting in her bedroom, and listening to her dish with other girls from my class. Honest, unfiltered talk. Complaints about boys. “Wait a minute,” I asked. “What about me? Aren’t I one of the boys?” Oh Kit, don’t worry, you don’t count, they all assured me.
At Barton Springs, Trans Existence Becomes Resistance Original
On a stone slab by the cold waters of Austin’s Barton Springs, transgender Texans celebrate existence. Against the best efforts of the state, they’re still here, laughing and swimming in the heat of a late-August afternoon. Each year, nearly 800,000 people pay a small admission fee to pass through the gates of the capital city’s spring-fed treasure. Inside, visitors plunge into the pool, which stays between 68 and 74 degrees year-round, then lounge on the grassy hillsides that surround it.
Looking For Queer Community Outside the Bar? There’s a Walking (and Hiking and Yoga and Line-Dancing) Club For That.
It was the summer of 2024. Ash Gordon, a barber from Austin, was ready to hit the road for Queer Camp, when all of his friends and campmates backed out at the last minute. “I was really terrified because I was going to this event alone, there were projected to be 100 people there, and I already had my car packed,” he recalled. Despite his anxiety, Gordon decided to tough it out and told himself he could leave if he got scared.
How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions Original
On September 22, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8, Texas’ new “bathroom bill,” into law, marking another escalation in the Republican war on the rights of trans people. What may be less evident at first glance is how the law also represents an attack on public institutions—and on the legal system writ large.
Some Texas Schools Are Making Teachers Deadname Trans Students After New Bill Passed Original
Thanks to Texas’s version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay" bill, teachers at some public schools are under pressure to deadname their students. Under Texas Senate Bill 12 (SB 12), which was signed into law this summer, some Texas schools are forcing transgender, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming students to go by their legal names, rather than their correct chosen names.
Home page: New app aims to serve Austin’s neediest
With the number of unhoused people in Austin rising significantly, city officials have released a new online app tool to better connect people experiencing homelessness to support services. The Open Now app could help users find a wide variety of resources in a single place. But some experts found its listings incomplete and said the city needs to do a better job of getting the word out to the potential beneficiaries.
Barton stings: Growing anti-LGBTQ+ attacks hit Austin’s favorite watering hole
Austin City Council members are tackling the city’s rising number of reported hate incidents by restructuring Austin’s Hate Crimes Task Force to make it a city-led initiative that does a better job of tracking and responding to crimes and building public trust. That action comes as the Austin Police Department continues to investigate a violent attack last month in the Barton Springs spillway.
‘Shaky’ Audio Series Is a Messy, Real Look at Disabled Life
There are many words you could use to describe Nicole Tompkins, the disabled protagonist of “Shaky,” Audible’s recent 9-part comedy audio series: passionate, wild, talented, messy. But she’s also kind of an asshole. That’s not a role that disabled people have often been able to play in fiction—neither pure nor villainous, just a regular messed-up human who acts impulsively or lashes out at friends and loved ones during times of stress.
Supreme sadness: High court’s “Skrmetti” ruling hits Austin trans families
Life was already tough enough for transgender Texas kids. But a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has made things a lot tougher. Last month’s ruling by the high court upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors reinforces a similar ban Texas enacted in 2023, delivering a pair of legal blows to Texas transgender children and their families.
Reefer Madness Returns to Texas with Dan Patrick’s THC Ban
Marijuana prohibition is a Texas tradition. Unless Governor Greg Abbott vetoes Senate Bill 3, the state’s new ban on THC, the state is about to suddenly and drastically renew its commitment to that tradition—at a potential cost of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in lost taxable revenue, and countless lives broken in the prison system. “We have to look at a long history in Texas,” said Austin Zamhariri, executive director of the Texas Cannabis Collective.
Reefer Madness Returns to Texas with Dan Patrick’s THC Ban
Marijuana prohibition is a Texas tradition. Unless Governor Greg Abbott vetoes Senate Bill 3, the state’s new ban on THC, the state is about to suddenly and drastically renew its commitment to that tradition—at a potential cost of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in lost taxable revenue, and countless lives broken in the prison system. “We have to look at a long history in Texas,” said Austin Zamhariri, executive director of the Texas Cannabis Collective.
Counting Hate: At least 61 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in Texas last year
By Kit O'Connell, The Texas Observer on Fri, Feb 7, 2025 at 11:57 am This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet and magazine. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and X.
Counting Hate: At Least 61 Anti-LGBTQ+ Incidents in Texas Last Year Original
A national project tracking anti-LGBTQ+ hate found dozens of homophobic and transphobic incidents in Texas during 2024, ranging from physical assaults to stolen Pride flags, though the most common type of incident were protests by right-wing extremists, often outside of drag events. The database, compiled by the Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT) Desk, a project of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, also recorded a wave of dozens of bomb threats, including several in Texas.
40 Texans Honored For Trans Day of Remembrance Amid Concerns of More Violence
Editor’s note: This story mentions threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. For 25 years, a growing number of people have honored Trans Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20 as an annual memorial to the lives of transgender and gender nonconforming people lost to violence.
F--k You, Greg Abbott - The Musical
Some theater experiences are dignified and serious, exploring the depths of human emotion with gravitas and solemnity. On the other hand, there’s Young Greg Abbott: A FuQusical. “This ain’t a subtle show, just thought you should know,” sang the band leader, King Amy Blackard, at the beginning of the satirical show that saw its first two full performances on October 18 in Austin. “Please save your thoughts and prayers.
‘Fuck You Greg Abbott’-the Musical
Some theater experiences are dignified and serious, exploring the depths of human emotion with gravitas and solemnity. On the other hand, there’s “Young Greg Abbott: A FuQusical.” “This ain’t a subtle show, just thought you should know,” sang the band leader, King Amy Blackard, at the beginning of “Young Greg Abbott,” a satirical show which saw its first two full performances on October 18 in Austin. “Please save your thoughts and prayers.
You Can Fly Almost Any Flag at Austin Pride. Except a Palestinian One.
At Austin’s Pride Parade in August, while rainbow-painted police horses stood guard and brightly decorated floats passed by, officers tackled two men, using kicks and pressure points to pin their bodies to the ground. They were taken to jail on charges of ignoring law enforcement commands and resisting arrest. They were the first arrests at an Austin Pride event in years — perhaps more than a decade, according to one of the event’s longtime organizers.
There’ve Been 93 Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Crimes in Texas Since 2022, Data Shows - The Barbed Wire
Editor’s note: This story mentions threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. Before dawn on a Sunday morning in April, the bars in Austin had just closed. Joshua Ybarra started walking to his Uber. Then he heard an anti-gay slur hurled at him from behind. Three men lept on him, pinning Ybarra to the ground and thrashing him so severely that he fell unconscious.
LGBTQ+ book clubs bring lit-loving queers together
National/ News/ Top Stories The ever-evolving membership of the Little Gay Book Club in Austin, Texas, gathers several times a month to read together, to celebrate their love of literature, and of course to debate the latest selections. They’re one of a small, but growing number of LGBTQ+ book clubs springing up across the United States—from Philadelphia to Richmond, Virginia, among others—that meet regularly to share books and dish about their lives.
LGBTQ+ book clubs bring lit-loving queers together
The ever-evolving membership of the Little Gay Book Club in Austin, Texas, gathers several times a month to read together, to celebrate their love of literature, and of course to debate the latest selections. They're one of a small, but growing number of LGBTQ+ book clubs springing up across the United States—from Philadelphia to Richmond, Virginia, among others—that meet regularly to share books and dish about their lives. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics.
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