Messy Methods and Emergent Ethics: Reflections on the Transformative Storytelling Project
Markus Harwood-Jones
Published in Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review
July 16, 2026
Abstract:
The Transformative Storytelling project was a virtual creative writing workshop for trans, Two-Spirit, and nonbinary authors across Canada, developed in 2021 by the Three Hares Collective in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this essay, co-organizer Markus Harwood-Jones reflects on this project and the use of “messy methods” when working alongside marginalized communities in crisis. Extending this approach to the project’s enrollment process further called for Harwood-Jones and his collaborators to incorporate “emergent” ethical protocols—a shift that also came with its own institutional and interpersonal risks. Situated amid these uncomfortable tensions of researcher responsiveness and responsibility, this article contributes to ongoing debates about solidarity as both a material practice and a negotiated ethos.
Keywords:
trans studies, community-engaged research, creative writing, pedagogy, research ethics, messy methods, emergent strategy, COVID-19, adaptive methodology
What It’s Like Raising Kids In A Three-Parent Family
Markus Harwood-Jones
Published in Chatelaine
Updated: July 30, 2026
My husband, Andrew, and I met in 2012, when we were both university students in Toronto. Though I’d always dreamt of having kids when I was younger, the idea of family-building wasn’t really on our radar as 20-somethings having fun. As a queer couple, we weren’t sure what that might look like for us, either.
Choosing to parent queerly can be just as radical as going child-free
Markus Harwood-Jones
Published in Xtra Magazine
June 12, 2025
Having kids as a queer person is seen by some as a radical act, while others view it as a step toward heteronormativity. This question came up in a series of conversations I had recently with other queer folks. Many of them shared the view that, in today’s political climate, choosing to be child-free is a radical stance. As a queer and trans parent, I can understand where they’re coming from.
Reimagined And Redesigned: Recommendations For Gender-Neutral Washrooms And Changerooms On Campus
Markus Harwood-Jones, Lee Airton, and Kel Martin
Published in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education
October 6, 2023
Abstract: Gendered washrooms and changerooms are sites of tension for many transgender and/or gender non-conforming users. However, these are not the only groups impacted by the exclusive provision of gendered spaces. As gender-neutral facilities become increasingly standardized across multiple sectors, we consider how the rising trend of universal design can be realistically adapted within post-secondary institutions. This article proposes the concept of inclusive design and provides specific recommendations to improve user experience in gendered and gender-neutral facilities alike on campus.
Keywords: education, post-secondary, Ontario, trans studies, architecture, universal design
No Other Words: The Stories of Lili Elbe
Markus Harwood-Jones
Chapter 15 in TransNarratives: Scholarly and Creative Works on Transgender Experience, edited by Kristi Carter, James Brunton
August 2021
Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex was released to the English market in London and New York in 1933 (Elbe). The book was pitched as an authentic autobiography detailing the modern world’s first medically assisted transition of sex. The story captivated readers across multiple continents and continues to spur on adaptations into the present day. Pairing dictated first-person accounts alongside diary entries, letters, and before-and-after photographs, Man into Woman entrenched Lili Elbe into the history of transgender identity. Lili’s life was the subject of much discussion within popular presses of the early 1900s. Her narrative has returned to the spotlight in the 21st century, evidenced by David Ebershoff’s novel The Danish Girl. A film adaptation of Ebershoff’s novel was released in 2015, directed by Tom Hooper. These (re)productions of Lili’s life story speak to her own lingering presence and the lasting impacts of modernist sexology on trans discourse more broadly. These narratives make evident the interwoven stories that shape our understanding of gender and the very question of what it is to be human. Struggling against the weight of transnormativity, we need to follow the call of authors like Sandy Stone as we ask: for whom have Lili’s stories been crafted? This chapter will resist the urge to discount Lili’s story entirely and instead consider that alternative methods might be used to encounter those present absences that continue to haunt the archives of trans history.
Keywords: trans studies, gender studies, media, politics of representation, human, stories
