Welcome to Big & Bright  🌈⭐👏, our newest, glittering corner of the internet dedicated to coverage of queer life in Texas — the good, the bad, the joyful.

Kind Clinic and Texas Health Action are underwriting our original reporting and curation of queer Texas culture and news. All essays, reporting, and analysis are editorially independent. 

The Latest Big & Bright News:

Years Before the Stonewall Riots, Dallas’ Queer Community Had Its Own Movement

by Kit O'Connell May 27, 2026

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‘Future Legends.’ Despite So-Called ‘Drag Ban,’ Texas’ Queer Showcases Are Launching Pads for Performers.

by Kit O'Connell

Who Gets to Lead the Church? Women and LGBTQ+ Pastors Are Forcing an Answer.

by The 19th* News

What It’s Like to Be a Nonbinary Educator in Texas Right Now

by Kit O'Connell

At Least 15 LGBTQ+ Businesses Have Quietly Disappeared in Texas

by Mario Leal Jr March 18, 2026March 19, 2026

Musician Carter St. Hogan Honed His Trans Identity in Texas Honky-Tonks Before Fighting ICE in Minneapolis

by Kit O'Connell

‘Very Real Barriers.’ Trans Voters in Texas Are Worried About Casting Their Ballots.

by Kit O'Connell

‘Something’s Different’: LGBTQ+ Texans Are Organizing in Defense of Immigrants

by Kit O'Connell

‘Communities Ripped Apart’: On Texas College Campuses, LGBTQ+ Services Have Been Completely Decimated

by Kit O'Connell

‘Barbecue Saved My Life’: Meet Waco’s Antifascist Transgender Pitmaster

by Kit O'Connell

Who Could’ve Guessed I Was Queer? Six ‘Glass Closet’ Letters to Santa

by August Ponthier

‘Love Is the Only Motherf****** Way’: Big Queer Wedding Party Celebrates LGBTQ+ Joy and Resilience in Texas

by Kit O'Connell

Where Did Anti-Trans Laws Start? How a Forgotten Houston Ordinance Turned Into a Massive, Nationwide Culture War

by Cara Kelly, Juliana Lightsey and Investigative Reporting Workshop

I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters.

by Kit O'Connell

Looking For Queer Community Outside the Bar? There’s a Walking (and Hiking and Yoga and Line-Dancing) Club For That.

by Kit O'Connell

Texas Is a Lot More Queer Than You Think. I Am Too.

by Olivia Messer

Houston Erased Texas’ First-Ever Gay Pride Crosswalk in the Middle of the Night

by Juliana Lightsey and Isabella Zeff

Everybody Say ‘Thank You, Khalid!’ for Reviving the Male Pop Star

by Aaron Boehmer

Cool! It Really Looks Like Greg Abbott is Taking Orders From Libs of TikTok

by Brian Gaar

I’m a Black, Queer, Trans Man Who Has Had Two Pregnancies. Texas Wants to Eliminate People Like Me From Healthcare Spaces.

by Kayden Coleman

Is Pride Month Canceled? In This Texas Town, Sort Of.

by Riya Misra

Is That… Common Ground? Texas House Voted to Lift a Ban on ‘Homosexual Conduct’

by Angela Lim

This Texas Drag Queen Wants to Teach You How to Protest

by Cat Cardenas

Texas Is Secretly Collecting Data on Trans Drivers

by Angela Lim

The Meteoric Rise of ‘Sociopathic Powerhouse’ Wrestler Brick Savage

by Brian Gaar

Cowboys Should Kiss Each Other More: A Brief History of Gay Cowboys

by Eric Webb

I’m in Love with a Dead Man

by KB Brookins

50+ Bills Attacking Trans Texans Have Been Filed in the Legislature. Here Are the Ones to Watch.

by Leslie Rangel

One of the First Black, Gay Men to Serve in the Texas Capitol Just Proposed on the House Floor

by Leslie Rangel

‘We Should Be Paying Attention’: These Are the Faces of 38 Trans Texans Killed by Violence Since 2013

by Kit O'Connell

That Sucked. Now What?

by Leslie Rangel

You Can Fly Almost Any Flag at Austin Pride. Except a Palestinian One.

by Kit O'Connell

There’ve Been 93 Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Incidents in Texas Since 2022, Data Shows 

by Kit O'Connell and Leslie Rangel

Paxton, Enemy of State Fair and Tiny Lizard, Files Suit Against Child Safety

by Leslie Rangel

Texas Agency Spammed by ‘Bee Movie’ Scripts, Gay Porn Over Anti-Trans Policies

by Leslie Rangel and Olivia Messer

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

by Kit O'Connell

Houston Rep. Shawn Thierry Isn’t Done Being Awful to Trans Kids

by Brian Gaar

An Austin Drag Brunch Received a Bomb Threat. Did Cops Do Enough to Help?

by Leslie Rangel