No Sex Please, We’re Anthropologists

The American Anthropological Association and the Canadian Anthropology Society cancel a panel discussion on why biological sex is important in anthropology.

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Yesterday, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) announced the cancellation of a panel discussion titled “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: Why Biological Sex Remains a Necessary Analytic Category in Anthropology,” originally scheduled to be part of their annual conference in Toronto, ON, Canada, from November 15-19.

The panel was set to feature six female scientists, specializing in anthropology and biology, and aimed to address the increasing denial of biological sex as a valid and relevant category in both biology and anthropology. The distinction—or lack thereof—between biological sex and gender roles has long been a point of contention within anthropology. However, the refusal to recognize sex as a real and pertinent biological variable is a much more recent phenomenon. Eager to facilitate an open discussion on this contentious issue and to entertain diverse perspectives from the anthropology community, the organizers considered the AAA/CASCA conference an optimal venue for a constructive academic dialogue.

Accepted on July 13 without contention, the “Let’s Talk About Sex” panel was to be featured alongside other panels and talks exploring various anthropological topics, alongside more politically-oriented talks titled “Trans Latinx Methodologies,” “Exploring Activist Anthropology,” and “Reimagining Anthropology as Restorative Justice.”