Helen Boyd is a prolific writer with many essays published in anthologies, journals and magazines and is the author of two books. Both portray an honest account of her relationship with a transgender partner. My Husband Betty: Love, Sex, and Life With A Crossdresser, published in 2004, has been called “a standard text in gender studies,” and was nominated for a Lamda Literary Award. Her second book, She’s Not the Man I Married: My Life With A Transgender Husband has been described as “the (im)perfect modern love story” and “a postmodern reflection on transness.” You can follow Boyd’s thoughtful prose through her blog (en)gender.
She’s also a a lecturer in Gender Studies at Lawrence University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English and Masters in Writing from City College of New York. At Lawrence, Boyd teaches such courses as introduction to gender studies, feminist theory and practice, queer theory, and transgender lives.
Her commitment to the rights of women and the LGBTQ community is extensive. She regularly gives interviews, guest lectures at universities and devotes time to corporate and government training on trans identity and related issues. In 2011 she appeared on Dan Savage’s podcast Savage Love, and that same year, received the Fair Wisconsin Community Activist Award. Recently, Boyd attended a roundtable hosted by the Office for Violence Against Women in Washington DC.
Boyd has been running an online group for couples since 2000, and has spoken at many 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 her wife (actor Rachel Crowl) spoke about LGBTQ marriage on PBS’s In the Life. Her writing has also appeared in anthologies edited by Matt Bernstein Sycamore and Vern Bullough.
Helen Boyd is a nom de plume for the otherwise bookish Gail Kramer. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The City College of New York with a degree in literature and a few other awards in tow. Her other interests – a love for the films of Buster Keaton, punk rock, writing fiction, and the history of anthracite coal mining in the U.S. – have taken a backseat to her study of gender. Originally from Brooklyn, she currently teaches gender studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.
- About her book My Husband Betty
- About her 2nd book She’s Not the Man I Married
- Helen Boyd’s Published Writing
- Past Appearances
- Media Kit
- Contact Helen Boyd
- Book her for an event.
- Facebook & Twitter
0 Replies to “About”