An author has come out as a transgender man after his husband transitioned from male to female – and the couple are now in a four-way relationship with their transgender lovers.
Rowan Jette Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, announced on his social media in August that he was re-identifying 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 formerly known as Mark but came out as transgender in July 2015 after 19 years of marriage.
The couple’s daughter, Alexis, announced that she is 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.” He previously expressed his joy at realizing he was non-binary before coming out as transgender, telling PinkNews: “Trans joy is contagious.”
A polycule: Dani, Rowan, Zoe and Dame (from left to right) all live together in a four-way relationship in Toronto
Rowan Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, announced on his social media earlier this year that he was re-identifying as a trans man
In a post on his Instagram account, the author said: “It is with joy, relief and a fair amount of concern that I reintroduce myself to you as Rowan Jette Knox.”
“I am a trans man, undergoing medical transition and will only use the pronouns “he/him” in the future.
He continued, “I am a trans man, am medically transitioning, and will only use he/him pronouns moving forward.”
“I’ve known this was me for a long time, but I had to work up the courage to say it out loud.”
“It took months of introspection therapy, long conversations with loved ones, lots of tears, and overcoming 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 about his first meeting with Dani last year after he contacted her to talk about an experience she had.
According to Knox, the two “immediately developed in a way that I rarely do these days” before concluding that they had fallen in love.
In a post on his Instagram, seen here, the author reintroduced himself as Rowan Jette Knox
Rowan Knox, formerly known as Amanda Jette Knox, is seen here before his transition
Knox says the two then “encouraged” their spouses to get to know each other. Then Dame and Zoe also fell in love.
Knox and her wife then decided to move from their hometown of Ottawa to Toronto in January of this year to start a new life as a couple of four.
It’s unclear whether Knox was known as Rowan at the time he met Dani, but he had said in his coming out post that he had been called Rowan to his loved ones “for a while.”
He wrote, “It didn’t take long before we all realized that being apart more than together was too painful.”
“The two weeks we spent between visits felt like months. After much conversation and careful planning, Zoë and I did something I swore I would never do.
“We took over our deployments and moved to Toronto to start a new life with new loves.”
“The fact that our children were now grown and our jobs were remote made the transition easier – as did the painful growth 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 an email to her parents in 2014. Alexis and Rowan, then known as Amanda, are seen above taking part in the Microsoft video series called “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, then known as Amanda, had taken part in a video series organized by Microsoft called My 24 Hrs.
Speaking about the decision to take part in the series, Alexis said: “I’ve always had a very tolerant home. We have never enforced gender roles.
“Sending an email was just the easiest way for me because I was really afraid of what my parents would think.” “It’s really difficult when you honestly don’t know.”
Rowan had previously published a blog post about Alexis’s coming out in 2020, saying: “When she came to us at eleven, she had limited options for describing her feelings and the world was a lot back then in a more binary way.”
“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 social media bio and spoke openly with everyone about it.”
In addition to Alexis, Rowan and Zoe also have two sons.
Knox previously wrote an article for Pink News about how contagious “trans joy” is, writing, “Trans joy is contagious.” And right now, the world needs more of it.
“Make no mistake: in today’s world, trans joy is an act of defiance and power.”