ORCID
0009-0008-0325-5152
Keywords
forensic anthropology, biological normalcy, fuzzy logic, osteological sex estimation, transgender and gender diverse individuals
Abstract
Forensic anthropologists estimate assigned sex at birth from skeletal material as part of the biological profile. Methodological approaches to assigned sex estimation in forensic anthropology reinforce biological normalcy (feedback loop between research and culture that defines what is “normal”), which reifies binary biological sex. A reliance on binary sex is problematic as it 1) does not accurately reflect the variation in biological sex and 2) could hinder the identification efforts of transgender, gender diverse, and intersex individuals. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the interrogation of biological normalcy through fuzzy logic to investigate osteological sex variation and classification of assigned sex. Cranial metric and morphological data were collected from computed tomography scans of 130 assigned females at birth and 169 assigned males at birth from the New Mexico Decedent Image Database. Fuzzy clustering techniques were employed to explore whether the pre-designated categories of sex accurately reflect variation. The fuzzy clustering showed that individuals clustered into two to six, non-discrete clusters that modeled a continuum of gracility and robusticity rather than strictly assigned sex. The impact of fuzzy principles on classification was explored using fuzzy rule-based systems for the classification of assigned sex and gracility/robusticity. Generally, classification of assigned sex was comparable to traditional classification methods (76.29% - 87.63%), though the morphological models had lower overall accuracy rates. Additionally, classification accuracy was higher when predicting the structure of the data (i.e., gracility/robusticity) (87.63% - 93.81%) rather than the ascribed category of sex. Lastly, fuzzy classification models were applied to a small sample of presumed transgender individuals, who primarily classified according to their assigned sex, which underscores the importance of developing methodological approaches of assessing gender through a biocultural framework. While further research is needed, fuzzy logic offers an approach to begin deconstructing binary sex through “fuzzifying” osteological sex.
Completion Date
2025
Semester
Summer
Committee Chair
Adams, Donovan
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Anthropology
Format
Release Date
8-15-2027
Document Type
Dissertation
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
Subjects
Human remains (Archaeology)--Sex determination; Forensic anthropology--Methodology; Sex differences--Research; Forensic osteology; Gender identity--Research
STARS Citation
Lane, Katherine M., "Theoretical and Methodological Considerations of the Estimation of Osteological Sex in Forensic Anthropology Utilizing Fuzzy Logic Principles" (2025). Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024. 559.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2024/559
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