sex / gender / sexuality
Sex, as I see it, does pertain to biological differences between bodies. Of course, just what qualifies as such is neither universal nor unchanging. Instead, it is a matter of culture and history. Determinations may be made from fluids, humors, anatomy, skeletal elements, genitals, hormones, chromosomes, etc... Sex can encapsulate physiological processes—birthing, lactating, aging, dying, and decomposing. In the contemporary Western sex/gender system, for instance, sex is observed presently as a given, stable throughout one’s life, and rigidly dimorphic—male or female...
And yet, with critical reflection, we see that these characteristics are undermined by empirical evidence of anatomical differences not reducible to duality, as well as bodies’ phenotypic plasticity. Thus, in putting forth the idea that sex is as much a construction as gender, I do not mean to suggest that it is not real or that embodied experiences only occur idiosyncratically. Rather, I do so to highlight the arbitrariness of matter’s selection, its enmeshment with cultural forces and sociopolitical circumstances, and the practices involved in making it meaningful.
—The Bioarchaeology of Socio-Sexual LivesI am interested in sex, gender, and sexuality for personal, political, and intellectual reasons. Feminist and queer ideas inform my understanding of these concepts, the common sense that gets generated around them, the ways they intersect with other aspects of one’s identity (like race, class, or age), and the inequalities that arise as a result. An anthropological perspective reminds me that the meaning of sex, gender, and sexuality often vary between cultures. And as a bioarchaeologist, I can trace—through material remains and biological data—how these meanings change over time. As I explain to my students, as concepts sex, gender, and sexuality are distinct but often related (the image above is a nutshell version that I introduce at a semester’s outset). Take sex, for instance. As I have written,
If you would like to read more about sex, gender, and sexuality in the past or as related to present-day archaeologists, do check out the authors who have contributed to my book series Archaeology of Gender and Sexuality with Routledge, and the annotated overview “Archaeologies of Sexuality” that I wrote for Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology. The interviews I have given to journalists may also be useful (e.g., The Guardian, CNN, The Observer, and NRC). The one I did with France 24 even found its way to TikTok (you can watch both videos below).
If you are want to dive more deeply into the stereotypes that circulate about sex, gender, and sexuality in archaeology, do download (for free) Gender Stereotypes in Archaeology: A Short Reflection in Image and Text, edited by Laura Coltofean-Arizancu, Bisserka Gaydarska and Uroš Matić. This illustrated booklet identifies and debunks 24 commonly encountered gender stereotypes in archaeology. In it, I take on the commonsensical idea that there are only two genders, which you can read below.
