A 9-year-old transgender girl is featured in Netflix’s children’s series The Baby-Sitters Club.
Kai Shappley was at the center of a bathroom controversy in 2016 in Pearland, Texas, when school officials told the child she had to use the boys’ bathroom in kindergarten.
Kai’s mother, Kimberly Shappley, said at the time that Kai had identified as female since about age 2 or 3 and she fought the school system to allow the child to use the girls’ bathroom. The family moved from Pearland to Austin following the controversy, citing the city’s more welcoming environment to gender identity.
“It was just the safest little place that we could move to for Kai to have equal opportunities as all of her peers,” her mother said.
Hollywood approached the family after a documentary, Trans in America: Texas Strong, on Kai’s story won an Emmy.
“I got a Facebook message from someone in LA that there was a spot for a trans girl on The Baby-Sitter’s Club, and they asked if she wanted to play the part of Bailey,” Kimberly Shappley said, according to Click2Houston.
The family then traveled to Vancouver, Canada, to film for the series, which is based on the books written by Ann M. Martin.
“It was actually pretty fun. They were all sweet and nice. First class there, first class back, five-star hotel, and it was a famous, fancy hotel where I could order all the Shirley Temples I wanted,” Kai said.
Kai plays the character Bailey in the series, which addresses misgendering and gender transition in one episode.
“For me, as her mom, watching the episode I just cried and cried because it was so real. They didn’t make a big deal about Bailey being trans, they made a really big deal about how Bailey was treated,” she said of the episode that focuses on the character’s gender identity.
