Maui’s Baptist churches denounced the movement.

“It’s sad that people who claim to represent Christ would do so so poorly,” Jay Armstrong, lead pastor at Kihei Baptist Chapel, told the Maui News.

Faculty advised students to not retaliate. Principal Jamie Yap said school went on as planned, according to the Maui News article. The Maui Police Department had 32 officers on-site for the demonstration. They reported no incidents.

On the same day, Maui High School students put on a Pride assembly in the gym. They decked the school in rainbow during lunch block because they knew the Westboro Church was coming. The art club made a mural, and students passed out pride flags and pride stickers. Valdez gave a seven-minute speech on her experience being trans at Maui High and how the school supported her transition.

“They let me cheer,” Valdez said, “they let me buy the girls’ uniform, and all my classes asked me if I wanted them to call me by a different name.”

Growing pains

Less by choice and more by circumstance, Valdez is good at figuring things out on her own.  She was raised by a single mother who worked three jobs — at the nail salon, at the hotels and helping set up karaoke parties at night. Valdez grew up in a traditional catholic Filipino household that had strict principles of what being a “man” and being a “woman” looked like. She caught flack from her three older siblings about the way she walked and talked. Her family kept asking her to “be more like a boy.”

Valdez learned about transness from her cousins, a set of triplets that lived in Kihei. She would stay over for the weekend with them about once a month. During these visits, Valdez saw her world open up. Her cousins would teach her about social justice and cultural appropriation. They taught her about gender expression, trans people and trans culture. And they put her in makeup and wrapped towels around themselves to do fashion shows. Valdez would put on concerts, performing songs like “Party” by Adore Delano and “As If It’s Your Last” by BLACKPINK. But when her uncle checked in, Valdez and her cousins would wipe away their fantasy world. They quickly unwrapped their towel gowns and hid the makeup, fearing criticism from those who had more rigid beliefs in what boys should and shouldn’t do.

Valdez came out to her mom first. The initial conversation didn’t go well, and she recalls her mom asking for some time to understand. Valdez packed her bags that night and thought about running away from home, but she didn’t. While her mom eventually accepted and supported her, Valdez said she still catches flack from her siblings. At her 21st birthday party, Valdez’s sister misgendered her in front of all her friends and family, saying “let us please pray for him.”

Valdez said she’s gotten better at sticking up for herself. And she doesn’t have time for the people who don’t want to respect her. She still lives in her Wailuku childhood home with her sister, but they tend to keep their distance.

A legacy already founded

Valdez laughs at her high school self a bit, saying that she used to “dress like a stick.” She’s traded her straight up and down silhouette for a coquette, flowy style paired with sandals. Her favorite outfit is a brown Burberry skort with a built-in belt and a poofy white top. Her hair goes past her waist, and she wears contacts instead of glasses.

But in many ways, she’s still the same fiery person. And she works just as hard if not harder.

“I still have that drive, that passion, that determination. When I find something, I want to do it all the way. 100%. And I still feel the need to inspire others,” Valdez said.

Valdez coaches the Maui High cheer team now, hoping to push the students as much as she pushed herself. Valdez stays busy, saying she’s the type of person who hates sitting still. She works opening shifts at Kalei’s Lunchbox before coaching cheer in the afternoons. On the weekend, she works as a Thai restaurant server in the early afternoon and at a Boba shop later in the day.

Valdez dreams of making it big in modeling. She’s walked two fashion shows and loves showing off clothes and hearing crowds roar as she struts past.

The magic of Kylee, Valdez says, is the ability to bring out the best in everyone around her. For example, when she goes out with her shy friends, she will always end the night with everyone dancing and laughing freely. And her co-workers describe her as magnetic and hilarious to work with.

Valdez hopes to post more on the internet, and she hopes more people will know her name. One day, she thinks she’ll leave Maui for a bigger city with more opportunities.

“I want to start venturing out,” Valdez said. “ I feel like I have more potential to be bigger than I am right now. I don’t want to say famous, but I feel like I’m too comfortable at where I am, and I can definitely put myself more out there. I just need to find that next step.”

And the legacy Valdez hopes to create at Maui High is already taking shape. Just five years after the homophobic protests, she said she sees many more non-binary and trans people when she’s coaching. And the school has an official club and counseling resources for the LGBTQ+ community.

“What I wanted back then was a world where there wasn’t just one thing that was the standard. I didn’t want a world where there was only one answer,” Valdez said. “I wanted a world where there are multiple answers. And I think it’s happened.”