Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏

@oconnell@federate.social
2K Followers
394 Following
2.2K Posts

Newsletter Writer & Contributor at Big & Bright from The Barbed Wire. Former Digital Editor at the Texas Observer. GLAAD Media Award and National Magazine Award-nominated editor and journalist. Friend to cats.

This is my serious work account. Follow my personal account @kitoconnell

PronounsThey/Them
Patreonhttps://patreon.com/kitoconnell
About Kithttps://kitoconnell.com/about/
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Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 13
Kit O'ConnellDec 12

Y'all were (not) waiting on the edge of your seats so here's my #music top list from #Tidal.

Top 10:
1. Chappell
2. Kesha
3. Marina
4. SOPHIE
5. Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
6. Princess Nokia
7. Orville Peck
8. A Giant Dog
9. Fka Twigs
10. Charli XCX

Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 11
Kit O'ConnellDec 10

“The Bible tells us that love is patient and love is kind, and it doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it is slow to anger, it’s not proud … yada yada yada, right? I’m reading this to remind the people that abuse those words, that abuse the words of love … the words of togetherness, that love is the only motherfucking way.”

On Sunday in Austin, 10 couples from around #Texas (& Oklahoma!) got married or renewed their vows in a joyous, defiant act of #queer celebration and resistance, the Big Queer Wedding Party.

For The Barbed Wire and the 19th, with gorgeous photos by Salgu Wissmath: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/10/big-queer-wedding-party-in-texas/

#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #politics #USpol #news #culture #photography #Oklahoma #Austin #journalism #love

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

the flower-filled Austin event honored the queer community’s commitment to “hold each other up” in dark times.

The Barbed Wire
Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 11
Flipboard Culture DeskDec 11

At the Big Queer Wedding Party in Austin, Texas, eight couples got married and two renewed their vows. It was "an act of joyous defiance to show that LGBTQ+ Texans are still here — and still loving each other," @oconnell writes for The Barbed Wire and @19thnews. Here's more.

https://flip.it/0l46XH

#Texas #LGBTQ #LoveIsLove #Pride

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

the flower-filled Austin event honored the queer community’s commitment to “hold each other up” in dark times.

The Barbed Wire
Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 10

“Love is an act of resistance, and our community is so brave and resilient.”

For The Barbed Wire and the 19th, I covered the Big #Queer Wedding Party, a joyous and defiant, glitter-soaked protest and party where ten couples from around #Texas (& Oklahoma!) got married or renewed their vows, officiated by Judge Denise Hernández a queer judge from here in #Austin. https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/10/big-queer-wedding-party-in-texas/

#Oklahoma #photography #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #culture #journalism #activism

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

the flower-filled Austin event honored the queer community’s commitment to “hold each other up” in dark times.

The Barbed Wire
Show threadMx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 8

Just days after the bathroom law went into effect, #trans folks in #Texas are already getting put in handcuffs over their use of bathrooms in public places. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTrH6CAwR/

#politics #USpol #news #activism #HumanRights #law #LGBTQIA

TikTok - Make Your Day

Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 5
Show threadMx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 1
In addition to regular contributions to The Barbed Wire, I'll be writing the Big & Bright 🌈⭐👏 newsletter twice a month. It's free to subscribe and I promise to make it fun, informative, and even uplifting ... https://thebarbedwire.com/subscribe/
Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 5

I heard that #Grok, the X.com #AI, is doxing people so I tried it out.

Grok is still doing this, at least for me. It is using people search websites. The address it has for me is over a decade out of date, fortunately.

You should quit Twitter but the real way to protect yourself from this is to use services like DeleteMe or manually remove yourself from these databases. https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/grok-doxxing

#tech #SocialMedia #privacy #ElonMusk #news

Elon Musk’s Grok AI Is Doxxing Home Addresses of Everyday People

Elon Musk's Grox chatbot will happily cough up real, current residential addresses of everyday Americans, with little to no prompting.

Futurism
Show threadMx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 5

“Every time that an anti-trans bill passes, it is another attempt at removing trans people from the public eye.”

Here's my analysis of the statewide bathroom bill in Texas, which went into effect this week, from @TexasObserver: https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-bathroom-bill-weaponizes-transphobia/

#LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #trans #law #Texas #TXlege #politics #USpol #news #HumanRights

How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions

A legal expert called the new anti-trans Texas bathroom law “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history.”

The Texas Observer
Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 5

The Pulitzer-winning Investigative Reporting Workshop teamed up with the team at The Barbed Wire to trace the #history of anti-trans legislation such as bathroom bills, and found it traces back to the 2014 right-wing attack on #Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance. https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/04/anti-trans-laws-houston-ordinance-bathroom-bill/

#LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #trans #transgender #GulfCoast #Texas #news #law #HumanRights

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

In fighting for bathroom bills in Houston, Texas conservatives provided a blueprint for the rest of the country.

The Barbed Wire
Mx. Kit O'Connell 🏳️‍🌈⭐👏Dec 5

On Sunday I'll be covering The Big #Queer Wedding Party for The Barbed Wire ... you should come on out if you're going to be in #Austin and looking for a dose of ✨queer joy✨. 🏳️‍🌈

It's free, but you can RSVP here: https://bigqueerwedding.com/

#LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #Texas #CentralTexas #events #culture