Order available in the USA and Europe, 2021, Hardcover

Dads is a journey into gay fatherhood in the United States. More than 40 families are portrayed by the Belgian photographer Bart Heynen. A very diverse group of dads who have one thing in common; they are gay and they have children.

Ever since 2015, when same-sex marriage became legal in across the U.S., we've witnessed a baby boom in the gay community. From New York City to Utah all these fathers are at the very beginning of a new era for gay men. Through adoption or the help of surrogates and egg donors they are able to make their dream come true and start a family of their own.

Beautifully printed and bound in Italy by famed Editoriale Bortolazzi Stei (EBS) to reproduce Heynen's portraits with the utmost quailty, Dads sheds a light on the daily lives of these families. The constant tension between how these families are unique and similar to straight families, makes this book a true page turner.

As the babies grow into adults and the fathers grow older throughout the book, we are reminded that families come in many different sizes, colors and shapes. To say it in the words of Harvey Fierstein: ‘Love, commitment, and family are not heterosexual experiences, not heterosexual words, they are human words and they belong to all people.’

“A stunning portrait of dads with their babies…The looks and gazes on the faces of both the babies and dads is spot on – a mixture, of curiosity and pride.” -Martin Parr

" A book as special as the subjects it celebrates. A rare look at the plight of queer parenthood." - Michael Beckert / W Magazine

" Dads" is an affectionate and candid visual guide of the bond between fathers and their children." -Troy Witcher / The Washington Post

"A new book of photography features the intimate moments of queer dads in America." - David Dodge / The New York Times

"Ever since same-sex marriage became legal across the US, there has been a baby boom in the gay community – from New York City to Utah – as these touching images show." -The Guardian

"Diverse in race, locale, income and convictions -- and with varying routes to becoming dads -- it paints an engaging visual study of one component of recent queer history." -Zoe Whitfield / iD-Vice

"Moving portraits of gay fathers with their families across America." Jacqui Palumbo / CNN

"The book is notable , too, for its diversity , both in who Heynen photographed and the range of their stories-as there are many roads to fatherhood." Julius Constantine Motal / NBC

"Leafing through the pages of Dads and reading the stories accompanying the images, a truth makes its way in our mind: a family is simply an act of love." Di Rica Cerbarano / Vogue

"Dads is a work of compelling human interest, allowing us a view into the lives of a diverse range of families." Emily Dinsdale / Dazed

"Bart Heynen fotografiert schwule Vater mit ihren Kindern - und gibt einen intimen Einblick in das Familieleben von Menschen, deren Lebensrealitat oft nich gesehen wird. Philipp Kienzl / Zeit

Dads Hardcover