How Gender Affirming Care Affects the Current Sex Estimation Standards in Forensic Anthropology: A Preliminary Study

Authors

Dakota Taylor, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

William R. Belcher

Date of this Version

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: Anthropology

Under the supervision of Professor William R. Blecher

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2024

Comments

Copyright 2024, Dakota Taylor. Used by permission

Abstract

Current sex estimation standards in forensic anthropology are based on individuals whose gender matches their biological/osteological sex, also known as Cisgendered individuals. Recently, transgender individuals have started to become more common in the forensic context due to the increase in hate crimes and violence. This research builds upon past research done on how facial feminization surgery can affect both visual and metric methods, where it was found that forensic anthropologists should rely on the visual methods if they suspect someone to be transgender due to it being more accurate and being able to clearly state the scars left on the bone in reports (Schall et al. 2020). This research will use those findings to now focus more on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) since this is used for both male-to-female and female-to-male transitions. I hypothesize that the individual’s bone density will be affected by the hormones introduced in HRT (estrogen or testosterone) and that the effect on bone is dependent on the time an individual has been in treatment. These differences can also be affected by whether the individual started the hormones before or after puberty. The methods for this research project are to reach out to local hospitals and gender affirming care clinics for scans, CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), etc. of individuals before and after they started hormones to determine if there is any visual change or overall change in bone density. Then a survey will go out to the transgender community on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's campus to ask their opinions on how far they are likely to go with surgeries/care, how long into their transition they plan to get or got that care, if they participated in HRT how long did it take for them to see results, and what was that process like for them. This will help ensure that members of the LGBTQ+ community who are victims of crime are identified and have an equal voice (through the study of their skeletal remains) in reconstructions of the circumstances of their death.

Advisor: William R. Belcher