Kahrl is an activist on civil rights issues for the transgender community in her hometown of Chicago and a member of the Equality Illinois board of directors.

[2] The story of her coming out as a transgender sportswriter in 2003 was part of a GLAAD[3] award-nominated segment entitled "Transitions" on HBO's Real Sports that aired in 2010.

[8] Kahrl has also written for SportsIllustrated.com, ESPN.com, the New York Sun, Salon.com, Slate, Playboy, and the Washington Blade, and was an associate editor of The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.

[10] Reflecting on the meaning of her election, Kahrl wrote, "While I expect to still write about transactions, I really want to try and breathe new life back into the game story as an art form, and perhaps in my conceit try to take pages from Runyon and Lardner and Pete Palmer and Keith Woolner to provide something old and something new, all at once.

"[11] In April 2011,[12] Kahrl announced that she would be joining ESPN.com to write and edit, teaming up with David Schoenfield in penning the "SweetSpot" blog, which provides a sabermetrics-driven analysis on the goings-on in baseball.

She has also discussed the nature of transgenderism at the Chicago History Museum, stating, "You have to explain to people that, no, this (being transgender) does not mean that you are supergay, although it's sweet of you to say so.