Connor McHale (any/all pronouns) received their BFA in FIlm and Media Arts with a certificate in screenwriting from Temple University, and their Masters in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago. Their research has dealt largely with queer creators operating under conformist pressure, such as in their paper The Closeted Cinema: Aesthetics of Queer Alienation in British Neo-Realism (2023), but currently their work has expanded to examine the normative effects of media on neurodivergent audiences, and how traditional structures of media are inherently neurotypical.
Connor has presented research at conferences in both the US and the UK, as well as having worked in various positions across the media industry, from a Hollywood development assistant to a creative consultant at a New York advertising firm, to a freelance video editor and an instructor at a youth-focused filmmaking program.