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Trans woman posts photo with her ‘bathroom buddy’ Texas Gov. Abbott

the picture has gone viral on social media

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Ashley Smith, a transgender woman and LGBT activist, took a dig at Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s support for SB6, Texas’ “bathroom bill,” with a photo that has gone viral.

Smith posted the photo of herself and Abbott on Facebook and Instagram captioned, “How will the Potty Police know I’m transgender if the Governor doesn’t?” Across the top of the photo, Smith typed  “#BATHROOMBUDDY.”

SB6 would force Texans to use public restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender assigned at birth and not their gender identity. The photo takes a jab at Abbott by pointing out that Smith would be forced to use the same bathroom as Abbott, despite not having the same gender identity.

Smith told the San Antonio Express-News that the photo was the most effective way for her to get her message across.

“I did not think [shouting] would work, or that I would be heard and was more interested in the getting the photograph and not getting thrown out,” Smith told the San Antonio Express-News.

“Some of us are not immediately obvious as trans. And the idea that you are going to be able to enforce a bathroom bill, I mean the enforceability is just not there,” she continued.

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PHOTOS: On assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany

International News Editor Michael K. Lavers traveled to Eastern Europe this month

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Stickers on the door to the offices of the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

BERLIN — The Washington Blade was on assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany from April 2-16.

The Blade interviewed LGBTQ activists, government officials, and refugees from Ukraine who have resettled in Berlin and in Warsaw, the Polish capital. The Blade also visited Auschwitz in Oświęcim, Poland.

A billboard at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on April 2, 2024, proclaims the country to be “family-friendly.” (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Part of the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to Hungarian Jewish people who the Arrow Cross Party, a fascist Hungarian militia, massacred during World War II. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Posters on the Dohány Street Synagogue’s fence in Budapest, Hungary, with pictures of Israelis who Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip took hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Carmel Gat’s sister-in-law, Yarden Roman-Gat, was among the hostages released last November. Roman-Gat’s brother, Gili Roman, is a gay man who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A falafel restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, with a decal on the window that notes it welcomes LGBTQ customers. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The drink menu at CoXx, a gay cruising bar in Budapest, Hungary. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
An anti-transgender book for sale in a bookstore in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government over the last decade has cracked down on LGBTQ rights in the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A UNHCR-affiliated community center for refugees in Kraków, Poland, on April 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A picture of Polish-born Pope John Paul II inside St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Kraków, Poland. The Roman Catholic Church remains a powerful institution in Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
An anti-Russian President Vladimir Putin sticker on a streetlight in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Posters at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Patrons at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Magda Dropek votes in Kraków, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy or Dropek’s X account)
Auschwitz I camp in Oświęcim, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

A mural in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Warsaw House Foundation on April 8, 2024, hosted a clothes swap for transgender people at La Pose. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Drag queens entertain patrons of La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 8, 2024, during a broadcast of an episode of “Czas na Show” or “Drag Me Out,” a reality show that features male Polish celebrities performing in drag with drag queens. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
International News Editor Michael K. Lavers interviews gay Deputy Polish Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek at his office in Warsaw, Poland, on April 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Patryk Janczewski)
The Polish Sejm in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Mirosława Makuchowska of Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ rights group, at her organization’s offices in Warsaw, Poland, on April 10, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Pride flags fly from an apartment’s terrace in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Ukrainian and Pride flags in Warsaw House Foundation’s apartment in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Drag queens perform at Ramona Bar, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A poster for a sex workers rally in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A memorial to Ukrainians who have died during Russia’s war against their country in Berlin on April 13, 2024. The memorial was across the street from the Russian Embassy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Lunch in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on April 13, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A gender-neutral bathroom at SchwuZ, an LGBTQ club in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Performers at SchwuZ on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
A pro-Palestinian sticker near Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Canadian Embassy in Berlin on April 15, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Dmitry Shapoval, a gay Ukrainian man with HIV, in Berlin on April 15, 2024. He fled Ukraine in March 2022 after Russia launched its war against his country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The menu at Felixx, a gay bar in Vienna (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A picture of former President Donald Trump in a New York courtroom on the front page of Die Presse, an Austrian newspaper, on April 16, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
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PHOTOS: Roanoke Pride

Annual LGBTQ community celebration held in southwestern Virginia city

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Roanoke Pride 2024 (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 32nd annual Roanoke Pride Festival was held at Elmwood Park in Roanoke, Va. on Sunday, April 29.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Capital Pride Pageant

Court crowned at Penn Social event

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From left, Zander Childs Valentino, Sasha Adams Sanchez and Dylan B. Dickherson White are crowned the winners at a pageant at Penn Social on April 26. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Eight contestants vied for Mr., Miss and Mx. Capital Pride 2024 at a pageant at Penn Social on Saturday. Xander Childs Valentino was crowned Mr. Capital Pride, Dylan B. Dickherson White was crowned Mx. Capital Pride and Sasha Adams Sanchez was crowned Miss Capital Pride.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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