Mama Bears, the new documentary on conservative Christian mothers who reshape their lives to support their LGBTQIA children, started from a story in Texas: that of Kimberly and Kai Shappley, a mother and her trans daughter whose journey of support, struggle, and faith caught the attention of director/producer Daresha Kyi. Reading a Huffington Post article detailing Kimberly’s shift from tea party Republican to LGBTQIA ally and activist, Kyi was intrigued by the mention of an online group the mother turned to for support: the Mama Bears.
Sensing a wealth of stories like Kimberly and Kai’s within the near-2,000-strong maternal ranks, Kyi reached out to Mama Bear organizers in the hopes of learning more. “Because to me, this journey from where they start to where they end up is heroic,” she explained, “because I know that you have to do some deep soul searching to make that kind of change in your life.” About 20 moms responded, and Kyi says while they all expressed interest in being in the film, “almost every single one of them said that ‘even if you don’t pick me to be in your film, I just want to thank you, because the stories, our stories need to be told.’”
As the Mama Bears are primarily an online group, Kyi took specific measures to represent the virtual bonds made between members. “A lot of times, these moms will form lifelong friendships, you know, and never meet. Because they’re spread out all over the country.” Those bonds enable the Mama Bears to activate each other, to encourage members to show up and take action together. The film covers actions taken in protests against Senate Bill 6, the 2017 “bathroom bill” backed by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Yet current attacks on trans and queer youth across the country continue to motivate groups like the Mama Bears to show support for the queer community. Kyi said a divine hand was involved in Mama Bears having its world premiere at South by Southwest – directly in Texas’ capitol. Despite Mama Bears being accepted to other festivals, “We actually withdrew in order to be at South by Southwest, because this is where this film was meant to be seen: in states like Texas, where these types of battles over LGBTQ rights are raging.”
Noting Gov. Greg Abbott’s letter defining gender affirming youth health care as abuse, Kyi said Abbott’s actions elevate and show clearly “the difference between operating from a place of love and operating from a place of hatred and misunderstanding. The contrast couldn’t be [starker].” This Monday, March 14, Mama Bears held a press rally to protect and support trans youth, with Texas Reps Jessica González and Erin Zwiener alongside Mama Bears founder Liz Dyer, and the Shappley family all attending. The Shappleys are current Austin residents, although Kyi says the state government’s attacks on trans youth have made them consider leaving Texas altogether.
Mama Bears delves into the difficult journey taken by parents when their Christian faith clashes with their kids coming out as LGBTQ. Kyi said her understanding of the participants’ faith changed over the film’s creation, especially after learning how literal their beliefs are. Finding out that many parents believed their children’s queer identity guaranteed they’d burn in hell put into perspective their adamant rejection of any LGBTQIA leanings in their kids. This revelation helped give Kyi “a new level of compassion and understanding for the journey of the parents,” as the harm they caused in their rejection came from a misguided but strong sense of love. Love is the bedrock of the Mama Bears, the group and the film, which Kyi said comes right from the Bible. “Right at the heart of Christianity is supposed to be love. Jesus said, above all other commandments, this one: Love.”
Documentary Feature Competition
Mama Bears
World Premiere
Friday, March 18, 12:30pm, Alamo South Lamar
This article appears in March 18 • 2022.
