Kit O'Connell

Austin

Mastodon: @[email protected] Former Digital Editor @texasobserver. I don't tweet anymore. Email: [email protected] AVI by @ivanflr

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Articles

Counting Hate: At least 61 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in Texas last year

2 months ago | sacurrent.com | Kit O'Connell

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

2 months ago | texasobserver.org | Kit O'Connell

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

Nov 20, 2024 | thebarbedwire.com | Kit O'Connell

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

Nov 2, 2024 | sacurrent.com | Kit O'Connell

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

Oct 31, 2024 | texasobserver.org | Kit O'Connell

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.

Oct 18, 2024 | thebarbedwire.com | Kit O'Connell

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

Oct 14, 2024 | thebarbedwire.com | Kit O'Connell |Leslie Rangel

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

Sep 30, 2024 | gaysonoma.com | Kit O'Connell

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. I first met Lex Loro, the genderqueer...
LGBTQ+ book clubs bring lit-loving queers together

Sep 24, 2024 | advocate.com | Kit O'Connell

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.
‘They Just Don’t Want Authors’: Latiné Writer Uninvited from Speaking at Texas School

Sep 20, 2024 | thebarbedwire.com | Kit O'Connell

“The most rewarding part of stories,” said author Jonny Garza Villa at a book signing hosted by Austin’s Little Gay Shop, is “realizing that I can write something that’s hyperspecific, a Mexican-American experience in a specific city in Texas, and how what that character is going through can relate to anyone, anywhere.” Garza Villa’s young adult fiction is imbued with rich cultural details of Latiné Texas life, including the perhaps unlikely queer joy one can find here, despite the hostility...