The purest expression of a child’s heart must be the wishes sent to an imaginary man wearing a red coat with white fur. In all my childhood yearnings, I could not have foreseen just how queer my own future would be, full of genderbending shows, vivid parades, and loud protests. But when I look back […]
Tag: LGBTQ+
Posted inBig & Bright
‘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 […]
Posted inInvestigations
Where Did Anti-Trans Laws Start? How a Forgotten Houston Ordinance Turned Into a Massive, Nationwide Culture War
This story is a collaboration between The Barbed Wire and the Investigative Reporting Workshop— a nonprofit newsroom at American University that trains student journalists on in-depth reporting. When she was elected mayor of Houston in 2009, Annise Parker became the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. In 2014, Houston was one of […]
Posted inBig & Bright
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,” […]
Posted inBig & Bright
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 […]
Posted inNews
Houston Erased Texas’ First-Ever Gay Pride Crosswalk in the Middle of the Night
A pile of broken, colorful concrete pieces was all that remained of Houston’s rainbow crosswalk as the sun rose on Monday. Construction crews tore up Texas’ first gay pride crosswalk, a beloved feature of the historically LGBT Montrose neighborhood, in the early hours of the morning. The crosswalk, which originated as a memorial for a […]
Posted inBig & Bright
Everybody Say ‘Thank You, Khalid!’ for Reviving the Male Pop Star
Today is a good day to say, “thank you, Khalid!” for saving male pop music. His latest album, “after the sun goes down,” which dropped at midnight on Friday, Oct. 10, has earned him the crown of least problematic favorite in a genre populated with headline-grabbing “this is going to ruin the tour” DUIs, monkeys […]
Posted inOpinion
Cool! It Really Looks Like Greg Abbott is Taking Orders From Libs of TikTok
Fellow Texans, it’s our sad duty to report that our governor appears to be taking his marching orders from a right-wing social media account (and, yes, we’re talking about … sigh … Libs of TikTok). While it’s a well-known fact that Gov. Greg Abbott lives in fear of being flanked on the right, in these […]
Posted inSports
The Meteoric Rise of ‘Sociopathic Powerhouse’ Wrestler Brick Savage
Brick Savage is not a monster. But in a wrestling ring, they play one to perfection. And if there’s one thing Brick Savage does better than playing the monster, it’s breaking the rules that try to contain them. The first thing you notice about 36-year-old Savage is their size — a massive physique built from […]