Who Is Kai Shappley? 10-Year-Old Trans Activist That Testified Against Transphobic Bills

Kai Shappley is a 10-year-old transgender girl who testified before Texas legislators as they considered two bills that have called transphobic. She stated that “Texas legislators have been attacking me since pre-K.”

The Texas Senate Bill 1646 would criminalise forms of gender-affirming medical care for youth, and parents that support gender-affirming medical care would be branded as “child abusers”. A second bill would criminalise some forms of medical care and revoke the licenses of practitioners who disobeyed the law.

While testifying, Kai Shappley stated that her mother “a great mom and a great nurse” would be targeted as the bill will threaten to take away her nursing license.

With all the antiTrans kid legislation across the nation today it’s a good time to share our doc again. It’s only 18 minutes long & It WON AN EMMY! Ok. Can we agree on how cute I was 🥰 https://t.co/uPPgAZf2df

— Kai Shappley HER/SHE 🍫 (@KaiShappley) March 11, 2021

Who Is Kai Shappley?

1. Kai Shappley is a trans actor and activist that starred in a short film by ACLU titled Kai Shappley: A Trans Girl Growing Up In Texas. She also had a role in the 2020 Netlflix series The Baby-Sitters Club, where she played Bailey, a trans girl.
2. Her mother, Kimberly Shappley overcome her personal biases with the help of a Facebook group of Christian mothers with transgender children. She told the Huffington Post “Having a transgender child, and loving her, has made me a much better Christian. I am less judgmental, and I am more empathetic.”
3. Kimberly also stated that by the time Kai reached the age of 3, she began to verbalise that she is a girl.
4. Even after former President Obama’s executive order allowed children to use the bathroom of their identified gender in their schools, Kai was forced to use the washroom based on the gender listed on her birth certificate.
5. While Kai Shappley testified against the transphobic bills, she stated that “I do not like spending my free time asking adults to make good choices”. She also responded to lawmakers that use their religious beliefs to push their agenda by stating that “God made me. God loves me for who I am, and God does not make mistakes.”

Feature Image Credit: Express News