Raising kids in a gender–open way sounds great, but how does it work in practice?
Three families – including the parents of the once-controversial Baby Storm – share their stories
When Markus Harwood-Jones, Andrew McAllister and Hannah Dees began planning for a baby eight years ago, they knew their family would face scrutiny. A child raised in a queer, three-parent household (Harwood-Jones and McAllister are married, Dees is their co-parent) would most certainly face questions about their home life. But would using they/them pronouns for their baby bring an overwhelming amount of unwanted attention?
14 Canadian books about love to read this Valentine’s Day
Warm your heart with this list of swoon-worthy stories, featuring books ranging from fiction to poetry to nonfiction to young adult
In the queer YA romance novel The Haunting of Adrian Yates, Adrian’s summer takes an unexpected turn when he meets a ghost named Sorel in the graveyard near the apartment he lives in with his dads. Adrian’s best friend Zoomer is worried that Sorel, who becomes Adrian’s boyfriend, might be keeping secrets from him. Adrian begins to meet with Sorel in secret and they start experimenting with consensual possession, which doesn’t go according to plan.
LGBTQ+ parents are raving about ‘accessible’ gender-neutral children’s book
It’s not easy for parents to find gender-neutral, inclusive books for toddlers, never mind finding age-appropriate literature which discusses reproduction without getting too graphic
In light of the LGBTQ+ book bans in the US, one LGBTQ+ parent has highlighted the gem of a book, What Makes A Baby by Cory Silberberg and Fiona Smyth. Fellow author Markus Bones took to TikTok on 16 April to praise the “beautifully simple yet accurate and inclusive” title, which is suitable for preschool to eight-year-old readers.
“This is one of my favourite books,” Bones began. “We’re introducing how babies are made, how children come into the world, I find it successful for a wide variety of ages.” The Really Cute People author goes on to read the book out loud for viewers, which goes through the start of conception from a sperm and egg cell meeting before eventually resulting in a baby.
Next-gen gender
Parents and designers are taking kids’ fashion to the next level
Markus Harwood-Jones says the decision to raise and dress his child, River, in a gender-open way was an easy one. He says he wants his child to be able to express themself now, and feel comfortable with their gender expression as they grow up, whoever they grow up to be. “When they get older, if River is really butch, or really femme, or whatever, we want to just make sure that they have pictures that feel like, ‘oh, that’s me.’”
Spacing Investigation: Toronto Public Library Ransomware Attack
A cyber-attack in October, 2023, left Toronto’s library system hobbled and users in the dark
As a parent to a two-year-old, Markus Harwood-Jones made visiting a Toronto Public Library branch an essential mainstay in his week. Several branches near his area offered opportunities to check out toddler-friendly board books and access play spaces. “They’re an absolutely essential space, especially for parents like myself who don’t want to have to spend money every time I want to take my kid somewhere.”
Navigating a Polycule: Exploring Non-Monogamous Networks
The more the merrier…and the more complicated
Markus Harwood-Jones, an author and PhD candidate, calls his current relationship dynamic “polycule-esque.” He lives with his husband of ten years and a platonic third partner. Together, they co-parent a child. He says that there are lots of questions this brings up both from others and within the group itself.
“We have to constantly navigate, like, how do we do our taxes? How do we figure out an RESP? How do we figure out a birth certificate? How do we decide who’s going to take the kid where today? And also, definitely a lot of our neighbors are sort of like, ‘Who are these three adults and their baby? What’s the story there?’”
Really Cute People: Publishers Weekly Review
Harwood-Jones (The Haunting of Adrian Yates) amps up the warm fuzzies in this wonderfully queer triad romance. Toronto mental health professional Charlie Dee (who is nonbinary) is still recovering from the dissolution of their co-op living situation when work sends them to check out a potential client referral partnership in Ontario.
The Haunting of Adrian Yates: 25 Canadian YA books to read in fall 2023
25 Canadian YA books to read in fall 2023
In the queer YA romance novel The Haunting of Adrian Yates, Adrian’s summer takes an unexpected turn when he meets a ghost named Sorel in the graveyard near the apartment he lives in with his dads. Adrian’s best friend Zoomer is worried that Sorel, who becomes Adrian’s boyfriend, might be keeping secrets from him. Adrian begins to meet with Sorel in secret and they start experimenting with consensual possession, which doesn’t go according to plan.
The Haunting of Adrian Yates: Quill & Quire Review
Adrian Yates is used to fading into the background, especially at home, where his dads are too busy arguing to pay him any attention. Drifting listlessly through mundane summer days, the only thing tethering Adrian to life is his best friend, Zoomer, and – ironically – his nightly trips to the graveyard to visit his ghostly boyfriend. Though Sorel has been dead for a long time, he is bursting with life and a desire to reconnect with the living. Adrian, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to take a break from his heavy life, and soon the pair enter a relationship of consensual possession. Through Adrian, Sorel gets a second chance to live, to reconnect with his human memories, and to finally leave the confines of the graveyard. Through Sorel, Adrian can let someone else take the reins, and in doing so, feels seen and appreciated more than ever before.
The Haunting of Adrian Yates: The Lambda Literary Review
For those of us who love the espooky season, it’s the best time of the year. And that includes me. All things magical and haunting are in the air. And even if you are not a Halloween person, there’s plenty of sweater weather to go around.
Unconventional families face structural barriers, even as social views shift
River’s family tree has three branches – one for each parent. Markus Harwood-Jones, one of River’s dads, adjusted the five-month-old’s baby book so it would reflect the family’s unconventional parenting arrangement. “I keep having to wipe out sections like that,” the 31-year-old said of the parenting keepsake, in an interview from his home in Toronto.
In A Heartbeat: Wayves Review
“This story isn’t just about teen romance, but also gives subtle insights into the angst of many trans kids. I can’t wait to put a copy in my junior high classroom library.”
The Next Chapter holiday children’s book panel: 12 great book recommendations for young readers
Confessions of a Teenage Drag King is about Lauren who goes to high school as a regular kid, but on the weekends, they perform as a drag king in a club in Toronto. It is just a book about gender identity, sexuality and sexual orientation. It’s well told and well done.
The best Canadian YA and middle-grade books of 2020
Set in Toronto, Confessions of a Teenage Drag King takes a colourful and lighthearted look at gender, sexual orientation and identity. Lauren is a 17-year-old LGBTQ teen who breathlessly maintains two public personas – alternating between being a drag king and an unassuming high school student – as they look for romance in the city.
Three trans creatives to look out for
Markus ‘Star’ Harwood-Jones, a sociology alumni at Ryerson, has made his mark in the literary industry with three recent young adult novels, Just Julian, Romeo for Real and We Three. Growing up in Winnipeg, Harwood-Jones started writing to create a space where he and his friends were represented.
We Three: Quill & Quire Review
The latest offering from Toronto YA author Markus Harwood-Jones is a bright and quirky tale that explores themes of self-worth and social marginalization from the perspective of a young girl away from home at summer camp.
30 Canadian YA and middle-grade books to watch for this fall
We Three by Markus Harwood-Jones is a YA romance novel about three teenage girls at summer camp. Jasbina “Jassie” Dhillon has feelings for her two best friends, Ams and Sydney. At first, it seems as though Ams and Sydney hate each other, but it turns out the opposite is true. The three of them form an unconventional polyamorous relationship that works at camp – but what will happen once camp ends…?
Romeo for Real: BookTrib Review
Markus Harwood-Jones is coming out with two companion books this August: Romeo for Real, and Just Julian, both modern adaptions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but updated to the 21st Century, with a gay love story between Romeo and Julian. In addition to these book, Harwood-Jones also self-published two story collections: Confessions of a Teenage Transsexual Whore and Everything & All at Once.
Here, he talks with us about his writing process, what inspired him to tell stories, his experiences as a trans man, and more…
Building LGBTQ+ allies
An event marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia will explore both the personal and conceptual aspects of gender
The theme for this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia is “Alliances for Solidarity”, reflecting the need for persons from LGBTQ+ communities to find supportive communities so they can effect change and build safer environments. It’s a theme that Markus Harwood-Jones, this year’s presenter, can relate to. Mr. Harwood-Jones is pursuing his masters in Gender Studies at Queen’s, and identifies as transgender. When he came out as transgender, he had to confront family rejection and he experienced housing insecurity. Mr. Harwood-Jones says his talk will delve into both the terms and concepts as well as the very personal experiences of being transgender.
The Eyeopener Outsider Arts Issue: Markus ‘Star’ Harwood-Jones
Star is a trans activist and community organizer. They’re the lead coordinator at the Ryerson Trans Collective. From their office, which doubles as storage for both the Centre for Women and Trans people and the Collective, they steadily cut out newspaper clippings while reflecting on their art.
Queer zines, naked hearts and confessions of a teenage, transexual whore: the art and activism of Markus/Star Harwood-Jones
Existence, in itself, is resistance, says artist and activist Markus/Star Harwood-Jones. Survival has been a recurring theme from the time Harwood-Jones came out as queer and trans in his adolescence. Currently the coordinator for Ryerson University’s Trans Collective, Harwood-Jones goes by either Markus or Star interchangeably, and uses either “he/him/his” or “them/them/their” as gender pronouns.
“Helping people survive is my activism,” Harwood-Jones says, sitting at his desk in the Collective’s office in the spring of 2015. These days the 24-year-old, Winnipeg-born, Toronto-based community organizer is dedicating himself to the survival of others.
Markus Harwood’s Mosaic at Buddies in Bad Times
This August, Markus will premiere his documentary Mosaic. The film takes an in-depth journey into transgender communities, and explores the meanings and effects of gender identity. The project was inspired by Markus’ own journey of self-discovery, particularly during a gender transition in his late teens.
