'My Son Is Now My Daughter'

Kai Shappley has always known she was a girl – her mum, Kimberly, on the other hand, took a bit more persuading. Here, she shares their story…

- Kristina Beanland and Rebecca Wright

As my six-year-old daughter, Kai, strikes a pose for the camera, I can’t help but smile. She chose the pretty white dress herself, and she refuses to take off her pearl necklace – with a hand on her hip she tells me they’re classy. an ordinary (albeit precocious!) little girl, you might think. only Kai is anything but ordinary – the truth is, she was born a boy, called Joseph…

Already a mum to four boys, when Joseph arrived in December 2010, I was excited to add to my rowdy brood. I dug the toy trucks out of the loft, and couldn’t wait to take him on his first camping trip. But even as a baby, Joseph was different to his older brothers. So docile, he’d lie in his cot, sleeping soundly. I remember thinking his temperament was more like that of a baby girl. But it was a fleeting thought. I dressed him in camouflage patterns and, for his first haircut, I gave him a short back and sides.

But at 18 months old,he’d get bored playing with footballs at home, while at nursery, he loved dolls and the dressing up box. Back then, I thought it was just a phase and, wanting him to fit in, I encouraged him to play with boys. And yet, despite my efforts, by the age of two Joseph would pull his T-shirts down kim knows she’s made the right decision for her child to make them into skirts. The truth is, I didn’t know what to think. Was my son gay? Or was he just vying for my attention?

But the older Joseph got, the more fascinated with all things pink and sparkly he became. Then, in December 2013, when he was just three, I was washing my hands in the bathroom when he came skipping in. ‘Mummy, I’m a girl,’ he smiled. He said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but I felt the bile rise in my stomach.