Modern human skeletal biology needs to move beyond the strict male/female binary
Boston University School of MedicinePeer-Reviewed Publication
Human skeletal biologists traditionally provide sex estimations as a part of establishing biological profiles (skeletal sex, age-at-death, stature, ancestry/population affinity) for skeletonized remains often using the shapes and sizes of the pelvis, long bones and skull, among other bones in the body. While analytical methods portray skeletal sex differences as almost purely binary (female or male), a person’s sex – including hormones, genetics, external anatomy, internal anatomy, and the skeleton – can be more varied than either female or male.
In a new review article, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine explore why palpable change in the operationalization of sex and gender has been difficult to fully enact in human skeletal biology with an emphasis on forensic anthropology (the study of skeletonized remains in medico-legal settings). They argue that sex and gender are more complex than a binary determination and that forensic anthropologists are complicit in maintaining faulty notions regarding human variation that may be harmful for marginalized groups.
- Journal
- Annual Review of Anthropology