Sex and Gender in Human Skeletal Biology: Slow Movement Beyond the Binary

Despite advancing discussions to move beyond sex and gender binaries in human skeletal biology, including in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, such binaries largely persist in praxis and pedagogy. This article explores the perspectives and practices that have hindered feminist and queer approaches to advance sex-/gender-expansive research in human skeletal biology with an emphasis on forensic anthropology. These hindrances include a history dominated by cishet white males; overt sexism, intersexphobia, transphobia, and homophobia; typological and essentialist renderings of skeletal sex differences; a lack of feminism; and oversimplifications of human biocultural variation to comport with the field's law enforcement alliances. In addition, we discuss ethical considerations necessary for sex-/gender-expansive research and offer areas of opportunity to advance the field's knowledge and perspectives regarding sex and gender. Critically, sex-expansive practices better reflect the science of human biocultural variation while importantly affirming LGBTQIA+ livelihoods, which the field needs to embrace and prioritize.