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| Where does one gender stop and another begin? Image: Four interlinked male and female symbols. [Source: Martin StrachoĊ/ Wiki Commons] |
Let's talk about what we mean when we're discussing gender:
- Sex is biologically determined (or surgically augmented). Often, sex is determined at birth by what genitalia are present. Biological sex could also be measured by how many X or Y chromosomes a person has. The majority of people are biologically either male or female, but there are also a number of people who are born as "intersex" with both male and female genitalia present in some form, and individuals who have extra (or missing) sex chomosomes. Archaeologically, skeletal remains can sometimes by used to determine the sex of an individual, but not in every case. Humans don't have a high degree of sexual dimorphism, and so the landmarks we use to determine a male skeletons from female skeletons (cranial size, pelvic shape, degree of robustness or gracility in long bones) are not always dependable. Also, differences in sexual dimorphism are not consistent all over the world, and can have high degrees of variability. Without soft tissue, DNA, or other (circumstantial) evidence like associated material culture, sex can be difficult to determine with 100% accuracy.
- Gender is a social construct about identity, often shaped by the beliefs of the society an individual lives in. Sometimes a person's gender "matches" their biological sex (for example, I was born as biologically female, and I also identify as a woman). Not everyone identifies their gender as the sex they were born as, however. Someone can identify as the "opposite" gender, or two genders, no gender, or any number of other variations in gender identity. The number of gender options "acceptable" for an individual to identify as can be restricted by their culture and society, too. In modern Canadian census materials, people are usually only given the option to identify their gender as Male, Female, or Other. Although gender identity is a very personal and individual label, once an individual dies, the gendered treatment of their body is usually assigned by their family or community. For example, a modern trans man (transgender individual born with female genitalia, but identifying as a man) might be buried in a dress and wearing feminine jewelry, if his family wished to identify and memorialize him as female (regardless of the identity held by the individual in life). Archaeologically, unless there is written material telling us how an individual identified their own gender, the evidence found in burial sites tell us more about how peoples' families and communities identified them than about how they viewed themselves.
- Sexual orientation is a separate category from both sex and gender. Sexual orientation is primarily determined by what gender (or genders) an individual is sexually attracted to. Commonly used labels include (but are not limited to): heterosexual (or straight), homosexual (gay or lesbian), bisexual (attracted to both genders), pansexual (attracted to all genders), and asexual (not sexually attracted to anyone). There are many variations on all of these labels. In addition to this, there is the added complication that the gender an individual is most attracted to, may not coincide with the gender or sex of the individual(s) that the person in question is in a primary sexual relationship with. (For example, a man (self-identifying and gender identified by his community as a man) might be biologically male and married to a biological woman, but sexually attracted to other men.) In the archaeological record, it would be nearly impossible to determine an individual's sexual orientation, unless there is supporting written material that identifies it. You can more easily guess a person's favorite colour by their grave goods and skeleton than their sexual preferences.
This blog post has turned into a long and rather formal-sounding rant. That wasn't really my original intention, but I think it's important to know the meaning of the words you are using. I think this is especially important when these words are used in headlines such as "gay caveman". The individual in the "gay caveman" articles may have been biologically male, or the skeleton may be have been a misidentified female or an intersex person. The gender that the individual personally identified as may have been "woman" (as many people have theorized), or it might have been something else. The gender identity that was assigned to the individual by their community upon their burial may have been at odds with the way the person identified themselves. The "gay caveman" may have been a homosexual man, or may not have been. We have no way of knowing, short of going back with a time machine and watching this person have sex with someone. And even then, for whatever reasons, the individual might not be having sex with the gender they are most attracted to.
I understand that using words like "gay caveman" are attention-grabbing and capture the interest of the public. I understand that public interest helps generate money that pays for research. But even so, I think it is both inaccurate and problematic to assign these labels to an individual from another time and another culture, based on mostly circumstantial evidence. Especially since people of non-binary sexes and "alternative" gender identities and sexual orientations are still fighting for equal rights, recognition, and sometimes their lives.
ETA: I found a cute cartoon about gender when I was surfing the interweb today, so I thought I'd share it!
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