The Heartwarming Documentary About A Texas Girl Named Crystal
The documentary follows Crystal, her brother, and parents as they navigate an increasingly hostile political environment.
Crystal is a straight-A student who loves studying geography, playing the trumpet and making kandi bracelets, the colorful jewelry representing unity with origins in the rave community.
She’s also no longer in a state wanting to erase her existence.
Crystal, who is transgender, is the subject of the documentary short Crystal: Story Of A Girl From Texas, which was released for free on Thursday, May 29 on YouTube by director Michelle Mower.
Crystal: Story Of A Girl From Texas was directed by Michelle Mower
The documentary follows Crystal, her brother, and parents Bubba, a teacher, and Beth, a licensed professional counselor, as they navigate an increasingly hostile political environment for transgender and nonbinary people. (Texas Signal is only using their first names at their request.)
The political attacks on transgender and nonbinary people began in 2015, with a focus on bathrooms and locker rooms. The biggest assault, however, came in 2023 when Texas became the largest state in the country to ban gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and nonbinary young people.
Gender-affirming care is a holistic process involving mental health counseling, reversible treatments like puberty blockers, and social affirmations, such as using correct pronouns. But opponents made sensational claims not grounded in science or even fact.
The 2023 bill passed in the Texas Senate 19-12, with all Democrats voting against it and 87-56 in the House with four Democrats voting in favor of it. Opponents were bound to lose. But Beth’s a hopeful person. She went to the Capitol as often as she could, she said.
After it was signed into law, opponents sued in Travis County Court, which blocked its enforcement. But the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court upheld the state ban in 2024 on an 8-1 vote. Only Justice Debra Lehrmann dissented, arguing “The law is not only cruel — it is unconstitutional.”
Crystal is far blunter in the documentary about the laws targeting kids like her. “They’re making these dumb laws and decisions and I think that should stop.”
Last year, Beth and Bubba made the difficult decision to move Beth and the children to a state where gender-affirming care is legal. Bubba remained in Texas, as shown in the documentary.
“The party of family values is splitting up my family so we can get healthcare for my child," Beth said of the move.
But the move may have been for the best. “She still loves geography but is saddened by all the cool places that would just not be safe for her to visit. We work really hard to let her be a kid and since living in a blue state- that has been much easier,” Beth said.
Beth still has hope transgender and non-binary people will have a place in Texas some day.
“There is typically a rainbow after the storm. I really worry about the people who do not have a safe place during this storm. I want them to know that there are people out there doing what we can to make this world a kinder and safer place,” she said. “The reality is hope is not going to be enough; we need actions. We need the people who say they care about trans people to go to the school board meetings, call your representative, speak up for trans people in rooms they are not in, and most importantly, VOTE. Put people in office that will work on real solutions and not use people as pawns for political power.”
She’s hopeful, too, that her family will be together again at the end of the rainbow.
“After two years of my husband and I living in two different states and all of us staying emotionally connected despite physically being over 600 miles apart, we will all be back together again soon,” she said.
For director Mower, making the documentary available online now is a way to further amplify the voices of transgender Americans and their supporters grappling with cruel laws in states like Texas. And in just a few weeks the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case United States vs. Skrmetti, which could have a major impact on gender-affirming care in all parts of the country.
Mower, who is originally from Houston, met Beth and Crystal when she was producing ads with the group Mothers Against Greg Abbott. Mower saw Crystal’s infectious positivity and the idea for a documentary was forged (and then the writer’s strike of 2023 really kicked things into gear).
Crystal: Story of a Girl From Texas had been making the festival rounds since August of 2024. And it won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Dallas International Film Festival that year.
