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'Bathroom bills' are harmful and absurd. This Texas woman's pic shows why.

A transgender Texas woman snapped a photo at a rally for Gov. Greg Abbott. The internet is loving it.

As many constituents do, Texan Ashley Smith recently snapped a picture with Gov. Greg Abbott at a re-election rally for the Republican leader in San Antonio on July 14.

At face value, the photo may not appear all that unique. But the message behind it (and hashtagged across it) truly is worth a thousand words.

How will the Potty Police know I'm transgender if the Governor doesn't? #bathroombuddy #satx #indivisible #stopsb6 #noh8 #transgender #translivesmatter #sunsetandsinedie #classroomsnotbathrooms

Posted by Ashley Smith on Saturday, July 15, 2017

Smith is transgender. And the photo comes at a critical time for trans rights in Texas.

Gov. Abbott supports Texas' Senate Bill 6 — legislation that would force transgender people to use the restroom that corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth, regardless of their actual gender identity, in public facilities.

The bill, Abbott has argued in vague terms, protects "privacy in bathrooms."

Without the support of house speaker and moderate Republican Joe Straus, the controversial bill stalled in the spring. But in June, the governor called a 30-day special session — which began this week — in part to further press lawmakers to resurrect the measure.

Texas' bathroom bill isn't just harmful, it's impossible to enforce, which is the point Smith wanted to make with her photo.

"How will the Potty Police know I'm transgender if the Governor doesn't?" Smith mocked in the caption of the viral photo, which has amassed 5,000 Likes and thousands of shares.

While everyone should have access to a bathroom that aligns with their gender — regardless if a person visually "passes" as that gender or not — Smith's photo highlights the absurd notion that that regulation could possibly be applied in a consistent way.

Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images.

"We're about 1-in-300 people, we're all over the place, we're your friends and your neighbors," she explained to 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."

Even more important than the law's enforceability, research shows bills like the one in Texas are dangerously misguided.

Motivations behind these so-called "bathroom bills" cropping up in states across the country are born from the myth that sexual predators take advantage to prey on victims. That's simply not true.

Ironically, research shows people who are transgender are the ones living more at risk of violence and harassment. Laws that allow them to use facilities that correspond with their gender — as opposed to ones that restrict access to safe restrooms — help in reducing that risk.

In Texas, Smith believes, politicians should pay attention to reality.

"I think [Senate Bill 6] would be a disaster," Smith explained to CNN. "Transgender people have faced harassment just for being who they are."

Learn more about Texas' Senate Bill 6 and how to fight back at the Human Rights Campaign.

Upworthy reached out to Ashley Smith for comment. This article may be updated.

Pop Culture

'Wicked' author says one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's backstory

Gregory Maguire says he "fell down to the ground" laughing when the idea hit him.

Public domain

The two witches in "The Wizard of Oz" clearly had a history together.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book or listened to a piece of music and wondered, "How did they come up with that idea?" The creative process is so enigmatic even artists themselves don't always know where their ideas come from, so It's a treat when we get to hear the genesis of a brilliant idea straight from the horse's mouth. If you've watched "Wicked" and wondered where the idea for the friendship between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and Glinda (the Good Witch) came from, the author of the book has shared the precise moment it came to him.

The hit movie "Wicked" is based on the 20-year-old hit stage musical, which is based on the novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" written by Gregory Maguire. While the musical is a simplified version of the 1995 book, the basic storyline—the origin story of the two witches from "The Wizard of Oz"—lies at the heart of both. In an interview with BBC, Maguire explained how Elphaba and Glinda's friendship popped into his head.

 

Maguire was visiting Beatrix Potter's farm in Cumbria, England, and thinking about "The Wizard of Oz," which he had loved as a child and thought could be an interesting basis for a story about evil.

"I thought 'alright, what do we know about 'The Wizard of Oz' from our memories,'" he said. "We have the house falling on the witch. What do we know about that witch? All we know about that witch is that she has feet. So I began to think about Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West…

 glinda, elphaba, wicked,  In "Wicked," the two Oz witches met as students at Shiz University.  Giphy GIF by Wicked 

"There is one scene in the 1939 film where Billie Burke [Glinda the Good Witch] comes down looking all pink and fluffy, and Margaret Hamilton [the Wicked Witch of the West] is all crawed and crabbed and she says something like, 'I might have known you'd be behind this, Glinda!' This was my memory, and I thought, now why is she using Glinda's first name? They have known each other. Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Maybe they went to college together. And I fell down onto the ground in the Lake District laughing at the thought that they had gone to college together."

In "Wicked," Glinda and the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, meet as students at Shiz University, a school of wizardry. They get placed as roommates, loathe each other at first, but eventually become best friends. The story grows a lot more complicated from there (and the novel goes darker than the stage play), but it's the character development of the two witches and their relationship with one another that force us to examine our ideas about good and evil.

  - YouTube  youtu.be  

 

Maguire also shared with the Denver Center for Performing Arts what had inspired him to use the "Wizard of Oz" characters in the first place.

"I was living in London in the early 1990’s during the start of the Gulf War. I was interested to see how my own blood temperature chilled at reading a headline in the usually cautious British newspaper, the Times of London: 'Sadaam Hussein: The New Hitler?' I caught myself ready to have a fully formed political opinion about the Gulf War and the necessity of action against Sadaam Hussein on the basis of how that headline made me feel. The use of the word Hitler – what a word! What it evokes! When a few months later several young schoolboys kidnapped and killed a toddler, the British press paid much attention to the nature of the crime. I became interested in the nature of evil, and whether one really could be born bad. I considered briefly writing a novel about Hitler but discarded the notion due to my general discomfort with the reality of those times. But when I realized that nobody had ever written about the second most evil character in our collective American subconscious, the Wicked Witch of the West, I thought I had experienced a small moment of inspiration. Everybody in America knows who the Wicked Witch of the West is, but nobody really knows anything about her. There is more to her than meets the eye."

 wizard of oz, wicked witch of the west The Wicked Witch of the West has a story of her own.  Giphy  

Authors and artists—and their ideas—help hold a mirror up to humanity for us to see and reflect on who we are, and "Wicked" is one of those stories that makes us take a hard look at what we're seeing in that mirror. Thanks, Gregory Maguire, for launching us on a collective journey that not only entertains but has the potential to change how we see one another.

This story originally appeared last year.

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Friendship

Video of 3 women silently watching a friend give birth has people celebrating true friendship

They didn't make a peep, but their body language said everything.

Photo credit: Canva

Nothing compares to witnessing a loved one bring a baby into the world.

Friends are one of life's most valuable treasures, and if you're fortunate enough to find a close group of friends, it's like hitting the jackpot. This is especially true during certain big life milestones, which is why a video of three women sharing a key life moment with a mutual friend has people celebrating the beauty of true friendship.

Alyana South shared the video with the caption, "This was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever had. Being in the room with my best friends during this beautiful moment was everything. I love you guys so much! Thank you @lexigelz for allowing us to be a part of your big day!! I love him soooo much!!!"

 childbirth, giving birth, having a baby, newborn baby Getting to witness a baby come into the world is a gift.Photo credit: Canva

It's a genuinely powerful birth video, despite the fact that it doesn't show even one iota of the birth, the birthing mom, or the baby. All we see is the friends' reactions during the final pushes and the wee one's arrival, but that part of the story is beautiful in its own right.

The first thing we see are the friends huddled together on a sofa along the wall of a dim room. We hear voices coaching the mom, but the friends stay totally silent. Their body language, however, says it all. First, they lean over and pile on top of one another to be able to see. As the baby starts to come out, the women slap each other's legs in excitement and hold one another's hands in anticipation, and their excitement is palpable. The hands over the mouths. The smiles. The tears. They're so clearly proud of their friend, and when the baby's first cry hits, the joy is just too much.

Watch:

@alyanaksouth

This was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever had. Being in the room with my best friends during this beautiful moment was everything. I love you guys so much! Thank you @lexigelz for allowing us to be a part of your big day!! I love him soooo much!!!

 

The comments did not disappoint.

"The way they silently watched and let mommy and daddy have their time while supporting….so beautiful!!!!!"

"The way you all were quiet but so supportive was absolutely amazing. That’s true friendship 🥀"

""They were dying but remained quiet and did not take away from the moment for their friend. This was so sweet. Made me cry."

"So quiet and respectful. What an honor// and those aunties gonna be saying for the rest of baby’s life, 'I was there when you were born…'💕💕"

"And these are your three fairy godmothers my sweet! ✨✨✨"

 flora, fauna, merryweather, fairy godmothers, disney Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, the three fairy godmothers in Disney's "Sleeping Beauty."  Giphy  

"Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather at the birth of Aurora like…"

"The way they all pile up on each other is so sweet to me. You can tell they’ve all known each other for a very long time. This is the final phase of, “we were girls together.” Now they’re all women and their friend is a mother."

"It’s the way they silently celebrate. They slap each others leg, hold each other, don’t take from the moment from their bestie. And they’re SO proud too I love it, literally gives me goosebumps 😭❤️"

"Women are such magic! I love the adult version of girl hood. What a beautiful moment of women celebrating women!"

"Womanhood and girlhood in one video."

 four women, friendship, female relationships, womanhood Friends that are there for the big milestones carry a special place in your heart forever.Photo credit: Canva

And that's really the crux of what makes this video so viscerally beautiful. The giddiness over what they're seeing and their expression of friendship is reminiscent of girlhood, but what's they're actually experiencing is sheer womanhood. Women have supported one another through childbirth for millennia.

Friends we are close to in one season of life we may not be as close to in another, but the ones who see us through big life milestones always hold a special place in our memories and hearts. Wherever life takes these friends, this is a moment none of them will ever forget.

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Joy

Dad shares the hilarious conversations he has with 5-year-old daughter and folks are cracking up

"Why do people congratulate you when Mom is making the baby?

via James Breakwell/X

All parents have had similar convos with thier kiddos.

Raising kids is tough, but there's a lot of laughs along the way. Especially when actual conversations start, as kids begin trying to make sense out of the world around them, ask questions, and test mommy and daddy's resolve.

Back in 2018, comedy writer and children's book author James Breakwell, with four daughters who were all under the age of eight at the time, shared their hilarious conversations on X. From these tweets, it looks like comedy runs in the family. Here's a sampling of some Breakwell's funniest kid-inspired tweets.

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

While Breakwell's 7-year-old wasn't as heavily featured, when she was quoted, the sarcasm was palpable. Which makes sense, considering that kiddos begin understanding this mechanism around that age.

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Kids really do say the darnedest things, and we love them for it. It one of the many, many ways then bring so much joy to the world. It almost makes up for the headaches and sleepless nights, doesn't it.

This article originally appeared seven years ago.

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Christmas tree farm miraculously finds a man's missing wedding ring 15 years after he lost it

It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

via Canva/Photos

A man's wedding ring and a Christmas tree lot.

Wayne Corprew, 61, cut down a Christmas tree at Joe’s Tree Farm, a family farm in Newport, Virginia, in December 2015, but after putting the tree in his truck, he realized that the wedding ring he bought two years before was missing.

“I went back up to where I dragged the tree to and searched there, but it wasn’t there. I went back to the truck and couldn’t find it there, so it was officially missing. The next day, I came back and brought a metal detector. There was snow on the ground, and I spent all day the next day looking for it, and nothing,” Corprew told WDBJ7.

In the event that the ring would turn up, he left a note with the then-owner, Sue Bostic, that read: “Lost wedding Ring Band. Do not throw away.” Bostic would sell the farm to her nephew, Darren Gilreath, and his wife, Samantha, in 2019. But, according to The Washington Post, Bostic told them never to throw the note away. “This is important,” she recalled telling Darren. “If you ever find this ring, you need to keep this.”

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

By the summer of 2011, Corprew gave up on finding the ring and purchased another wedding band. Two years later, the ring lost a significant amount of sentimental value after he got divorced.

Last June, Darren Gilreath was tilling soil on the farm to plant some corn when he dug up an old wedding ring. “As I’m planting corn, I’m walking through the rows, and I see this wedding band lying on the top of the ground. I said, ‘That looks like a wedding band’, so I reached down and picked it up, and sure enough, it was this nice little gold band that was just lying in the dirt,” Samantha told WDBJ7.

Just to think, if they tilled the soil a few inches to one side or the other, the ring would have remained buried, possibly forever.

 


The Gilreaths remembered the old note that their aunt told them never to throw out, and they called Corprew, who was driving for his job delivering freight. To ensure that he was the ring’s rightful owner, he recited the inscription on the inside, “WITH THIS RING I THEE WED.” Corprew could hardly believe that his tiny ring had been found on such a vast farm. “How in the world, in 50 acres of Christmas trees, you’re walking all around it, and you get a call 15 years later and they find it?” he told The Washington Post.

The next day, when Corprew returned to the farm to get his ring, the Gilreaths showed him where they had found it, and it was right where he had cut down the tree 15 years ago. Corprew was incredibly touched that the farmers kept his note and remembered to reach out to him after finding the ring. Although he's grateful to have his ring back, he likely won't be wearing it any time soon. Since remarrying in 2022, he now wears a black and blue titanium band on the finger where the lost one once sat.

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30 cheap and delicious meals frugal people swear they never get sick of

"I could eat one every day of my life if I allowed it to happen."

Image via Canva

Frugal people share cheap meals they love.

Groceries are a major expense these days. And grocery prices are continuing to go up in 2025, according to the USDA. Still, making meals at home versus going out to eat is cheaper, and a big way to save money. But getting creative with low-cost ingredients can be a hang-up.

In an online community of frugal people, member samdaz712 posed the question to fellow savers: "What’s the cheapest meal you actually enjoy eating regularly?"

They continued, "We all have that one budget meal that somehow never gets old. For me, it’s rice, eggs, and frozen mixed veggies with soy sauce and chili flakes. Costs next to nothing, takes 10 minutes, and I actually look forward to it."

The post wrapped up with a call-out for others' favorite and frugal meals. "Curious what everyone else’s go-to cheap meals are not the I’ll suffer through this to save money kind, but the ones you genuinely like and would still eat even if you weren’t budgeting. Always looking for new ideas that don’t break the bank," they added.

Frugal people happily shared their cheap (and yummy) go-to meals. Here are 30 cheap meals that they never get sick of.

"PB&J sandwiches. I could eat one every day of my life if I allowed it to happen. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll make a PB, banana, and honey sandwich. Then I'll pan toast with a generous amount of butter on each side until the bread is golden brown and the PB starts to melt. It's so decadent yet so cheap." - Kom4K

"Fried egg sandwich." - Major9000

"Every week-ish we make pinto beans, smash em up into a refried situation, melt some cheese, spread them on toasted torta bread with avocado. Then use leftovers in your eggs the next day or make burritos for lunch. You can never go wrong with a pot of beans." - BoardNo1459

"A pot of pinto beans with a link of kielbasa sausage and corn bread...Absolute baller." - Bigram03

"'Hobo-potatoes,' diced potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, mixed up in a bag of foil with oil and left to cook in the coals of a camp fire. Goes great with any protein and has more potassium per serving than bananas." - BlaqueNight

"Pasta and butter. Sometimes with grated parmesan." - RuthlessLidia

"Quesadilla." - babe_ruthless3

"Toast." - FrauAmarylis

"Pan fried tofu slabs braised in a pan with chopped kimchi, green onion, kimchi liquid or rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, bit of water to make it saucy, a tsp of sugar seems to help it meld together. Takes 10-12 min. Served over short grain rice. Optional toppings, toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion. Edit: this was from The NY Times food, from Sue Li for exact proportions." - LavaPoppyJax

"Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and drink." - StarWolf478

"Rice and eggs for me too. It can be enjoyed in so many ways! My favorite is a crispy egg that’s still yolky on sushi rice with seaweed, salt and sesame oil." - theyrejusttoys

"For me it's an egg foo young - type dish! Stir raw eggs into leftover cooked vegetables (and optional protein, like leftover chicken or whatever you have). Ladle the mixture into a hot pan with a little oil, and fry up into patties. Serve over rice, and top with a drizzle of some kind of Asian sauce and a little hot pepper. You can look up a recipe for Egg Foo Young sauce, but that's not necessary; it tastes great with almost any kind of Asian sauce, or simply soy sauce. The cooked patties last for days in the refrigerator and can be reheated. Bonus: This is a fantastic way to use up any small bits of leftover veggies or meat. And if I have wilted vegetables that are in danger of spoiling, I just chop them up and quickly sauté them together, and freeze them in small containers. Now I have lots of veggies ready to go to make delicious egg foo young." - TIL_eulenspiegel

"For me, it’s instant noodles with a soft-boiled egg, some greens, and a splash of sesame oil. Dirt cheap but feels like comfort food every time!" - Wajid-H-Wajid

"Baked potatoes. So cheap, so good." - killyergawds

"Over-night oats. Eat it every morning before work." - Non_Binary_Goddess

"Nachos for the win." - HappyBear4Ever

"Rice and lentils cooked together." - RichCoast7186

"Potatoes, baked beans, fried eggs. Potatoes, corned beef, fried eggs. Rice (Mexican, Spanish, or Asian), beans, fried eggs. Cottage cheese, bran, frozen blueberries, milk. Home made salsa or pico de gallo on anything. Ground beef, rice, tomato and whatever else I have around. Rotisserie chicken, use the carcass to make soup with rice. Use the chicken that you can get off with tortillas and verde/enchilada sauce. With rice and beans. My advice, get really good at cooking rice, beans, and potatoes. Make sure you have a good selection of spices. Throw whatever extra money you have at whatever meats you can." - himthatspeaks

"Sweet potato black bean burrito a la moosewood. The most basic version is just a sweet potato and a can of black beans (but much better with an upgrade of caramelized onions and some cumin)." - Upbeat-Poetry7672

"Sardines on toast with a over easy egg." - Gandi1200

"Green bean casserole! Takes 10mins and lasts me all week for dinner and lunch." - Kihakiru

"Pan fried Spam, sunny side up egg, over rice. Furikake seasoning to taste." - Cajunsalmon

"I don't make meals I don't enjoy eating, but these are easy, quick, healthy and yummy. 1/2 rice , 1/2 red lentils + cubed veggies (frozen or fresh) eventually crushed tomatoes or coconut milk. Baked savory oats : shredded veggies +oats and eventually eggs or cheese or tomato sauce. Dhal sooooooo delicious. Split pea soup." - sohereiamacrazyalien


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