An author has come out as a transgender man after his husband transitioned from male to female – and the couple now live in a four-way relationship with their trans lovers.
Rowan Jette Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, announced on his social media in August that he was “re-introducing” himself as a trans man.
The Toronto-based writer and activist, who started taking testosterone earlier this week, is following in the footsteps of his husband-turned-wife and son-turned-daughter.
Knox’s wife Zoe was previously called Mark, but came out as transgender in July 2015, after 19 years of marriage.
The couple’s daughter, Alexis, revealed she was transgender in early 2014.
Rowan says he too was born in the wrong body, but it took him a long time to come to terms with his true gender.
Rowan and Zoe live in the same house in Toronto with their transgender partners Dani and Dame. Dani and Dame are a couple themselves.
Rowan describes the unusual relationship as a ‘polycule’.
A polycule: Dani, Rowan, Zoe and Dame (from left to right) all live together in Toronto in a quadruple relationship
Rowan Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, announced on his social media earlier this year that he was ‘re-introducing himself’ as a trans man
In a post on his Instagram account, the writer said: ‘It is with joy, relief and a fair amount of fear that I reintroduce myself to you as Rowan Jette Knox.
“I am a trans man, medically transitioning, and will only use he/him pronouns going forward.
He continued, “I am a trans man, medically transitioning, and will only use he/him pronouns going forward.
“I’ve known for a long time that this is who I am, but I had to work up the courage to say it out loud.”
“It took months of introspection therapy, long conversations with loved ones, a lot of tears and a lot of fear and denial to get here.”
In an article published late last month, Knox wrote that he and Zoe had begun a polyamorous relationship with another transgender couple named Dani and Dame.
Knox wrote last year about first meeting Dani after contacting her to talk about an experience she had.
According to Knox, the two “immediately bonded in a way I rarely do these days” before deciding they had fallen in love.
In a post to his Instagram, seen here, the writer reintroduced himself as Rowan Jette Knox
Rowan Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, is seen here before he transitioned
Knox says the two then “encouraged” their spouses to get to know each other. Dame and Zoe then also started to fall for each other.
Knox and her wife then decided to move from their hometown of Ottawa to Toronto in January this year to start a new life as a couple.
It’s unclear if Knox was known as Rowan at the time he met Dani, but he had said in his coming out post that he had been Rowan to his loved ones “for a while.”
He wrote, “It didn’t take long for us all to realize that it was too painful to be apart more than together.
‘The two weeks we spent between visits felt like months. After many conversations and careful planning, Zoë and I did something I swore I would never do.
‘We picked up the stakes and moved to Toronto to start a new life with new loves.
“The fact that our children were now grown and our jobs were far away made the transition easier – as did the painful growing up period I had gone through a few years earlier.”
Knox and Zoe are now in a polyamorous relationship with another transgender couple, named Dani and Dame (pictured together)
Rowan and Zoe’s daughter Alexis came out as transgender in 2014 in an email to her parents. Alexis and Rowan, then known as Amanda, are seen above taking part in the Microsoft video series entitled My 24 Hrs
Zoe and Rowan also have a transgender daughter Alexis, who came out when she was in sixth grade.
Alexis came out as transgender to her parents in February 2014, when she was just 11 years old, after sending them an email.
Alexis and Rowan, who was then known as Amanda, had participated in a video series hosted by Microsoft titled My 24 Hrs.
About the decision to leave the series, Alexis said: “I have always been in a very accepting family. We have never enforced gender roles.
‘Sending an email was the easiest way for me because I was quite afraid of what my parents would think. It’s very difficult to do when you really don’t know.’
Rowan had previously published a blog post about Alexis’ coming out in 2020, saying: “When she came out to us at age 11, she had limited language to describe how she felt, and the world was thinking much more binary.
‘Now, at seventeen, she can more easily express how she sees herself. She wanted us – and the world – to know that her identity is not binary.
“Not only did she tell us this news, but she also updated her bio on social media and talked about it openly with everyone.”
Rowan and Zoe also have two sons in addition to Alexis.
Knox had previously written an article for it Pink news about how “trans joy” was contagious, writing, “Trans joy is contagious. And right now the world needs more of it.
“Make no mistake: in today’s world, transgender joy is an act of resistance and power.”