Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was quietly, elegantly trolled by a transgender woman

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

published 18 July 2017

On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced his bid for a second term, and he is expected to get it fairly easily. In his re-election announcement in San Antonio, Abbott did not mention the special legislative session he called, which begins this week, or the anti-trangender "bathroom bill" he is pushing for in the sessions, but after his speech, Ashley Smith patiently waited in line for a photo with Abbott. Smith, a transgender woman and advocate, posted the photo to Facebook and Instagram on Saturday, with the caption, "How will the Potty Police know I'm transgender if the governor doesn't?" And by Monday, it had gone viral.

How will the Potty Police know I'm transgender if the Governor doesn't? #bathroombuddy #satx #indivisible #stopsb6 #noh8 #transgender #translivesmatter #sunsetandsinedie #classroomsnotbathroomsA post shared by Ashley Smith (@ashleysmithhair) on Jul 15, 2017 at 1:08pm PDT

The bill being pushed by Abbott, and opposed by business groups and House Speaker Joe Straus (R), would mandate that people in Texas use the public restroom of their birth sex. "I did not think it (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. Instead, she wanted to make her point more elegantly. "We're about 1-in-300 people, we're all over the place, we're your friends and your neighbors," Smith said. "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."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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