Helen Boyd is the pen name of Gail Kramer (born 1969), an American author, academic, and activist. Helen is the author two books about her relationship with her trans partner. Her partner is referred to in both books as "Betty Crow", though this is also a pseudonym. Helen is on staff at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin as the I.D.E.A.S. Division Affinity Groups Coordinator and PRIDE Center Coordinator.

Biography

Helen Boyd graduated Phi Beta Kappa from City College of New York in 1995 with a degree in literature. She has been a guest speaker at trans conferences, including the IFGE, First Event, Fantasia Fair, Southern Comfort, the Chicago Be-All, and also at special events like Trans Issues Week at Yale University. Helen and Betty have spoken about LGBT marriage on PBS's In The Life. As of 2011, she is also a Lecturer of Gender and Freshman Studies at Lawrence University. Boyd's activism was recognized in 2020 when she was named a "Champion of Pride" by The Advocate. Boyd formerly ran the mHB Forums, a message board for the discussion of crossdressing- and transgender-related topics.

My Husband Betty

My Husband Betty (2003, Seal Press) is a non-fiction book by author Helen Boyd about crossdressers and their partners. It was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Unlike many other books about the topic of crossdressing, it is written specifically from the partner's point of view and takes a distinctively feminist approach. Although the author's spouse was a crossdresser at the time of publication, she now considers herself "trans", a word chosen specifically because it was less well defined (and therefore less restrictive) than "transgender". The book was reviewed in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly.

She's Not The Man I Married

Boyd's second book is She's Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband (Seal Press, 2007). An excerpt of this book was featured in On the Issues magazine. The book was reviewed in The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, The Indypendent, and Publishers Weekly.