'Trans In America: Texas Strong' featuring Kai Shappley wins an Emmy

Short documentary "Trans In America: Texas Strong" featuring Kai Shappley won Outstanding Short Documentary at the 40th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. Short documentary "Trans In America: Texas Strong" featuring Kai Shappley won Outstanding Short Documentary at the 40th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. Photo: Little By Little Films Photo: Little By Little Films Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close 'Trans In America: Texas Strong' featuring Kai Shappley wins an Emmy 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

Kai Shappley and her family moved to Austin from Pearland last year for a more welcoming environment. But before that, she was the subject of an 18-minute documentary.

That short, "Trans In America: Texas Strong," won the outstanding short documentary trophy at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. The ceremony took place Tuesday in New York. Kai and her mother Kimberly Shappley were there for the festivities.

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"Trans In America: Texas Strong" follows eight-year-old trans girl Kai as she navigates life and school in Pearland, where she was banned from from using the girls' bathroom. Kai was allowed to use a bathroom in the nurse's office, but she had accidents because the door was frequently locked.

In the film, directed by Daresha Kyi, a wide-eyed Kai recounts moments when other students called her a boy and asks her mom why she can't have a sleepover.

Her mother Kimberly also tells of her transformation from conservative Christian to LGBTQ ally. Kimberly would punish Kai for playing with girl toys and spank her for insisting she was a girl.

"I realized that I had a four-year-old that was begging the Lord to let her die," Kimberly says. "I had a four-year-old who would rather go be with Jesus forever than stay here and have to live as a boy one more day."

The film, presented by the ACLU and Little By Little Films, is available to stream on YouTube.

Kai now attends school within the Austin Independent School District, which explicitly prohibits harassment of any kind, including based on sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.

And the best part is she can just be herself.

"When my mom let me start being a girl, it was more than amazing," Kai says in the documentary. "It was gorgeous."

Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle and also covers pop culture. Follow him on Twitter. Send news tips to joey.guerra@chron.com.

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