‘Woke’ University of Pittsburgh professor denies difference in male, female skeletons

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004

‘Woke’ University of Pittsburgh professor denies difference in male, female skeletons​



By
Natalie O'Neill


March 31, 2023 4:45pm
Updated



A “woke” University of Pittsburgh anthropology professor denied there’s a difference in male and female bone structure during a discussion about gender, sparking disbelief and outrage.
“If you were to dig up a human — two humans — a hundred years from now, both a man and a woman, could you tell the difference strictly off of bones?” Riley Gaines is shown in footage asking during the lecture.
“No,” professor Gabby Yearwood replies, according to footage posted on Twitter.
The response sparked appalled laughter from students, including Gaines, who describes herself on Twitter as a former University of Kentucky swimmer who believes there are “only two sexes.”
Yearwood then insists that he’s the “expert in the room,” according to FOX News.
“Have any of you been to anthropological sites? Have any of you studied biological anthropology? I’m just saying, I’ve got over 150 years of data, I’m just curious as to why I’m being laughed at,” he said before later declaring, “I have a PhD!”

Gabby M.H. Yearwood
Professor Gabby Yearwood denied there’s a difference in male and female bone structure during a discussion about gender, sparking disbelief and outrage.University of Pittsburgh
But his “woke” and “unscientific” claim drew heated skepticism on social media Friday.


“This is how far removed the Left is from reality that they must deny basic scientific facts,” tweeted the Independent Women’s Forum, a non-profit focused on economic policy issues.


“When the self-proclaimed “expert in the room” is offended that his assertion that males & females don’t have distinct skeletal differences is laughable, one might wonder what students studying anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh are being taught by their professors,” the group added.

University of Pittsburgh classroom
The response led to laughter from several of the students attending the lecture.Twitter/IWF
Dr. Aisha El Ait Mohr tweeted, “That professor should resign immediately” — while another critic blasted, “back to school for that professor.”


Archeologists rely heavily on pelvis shape to determine the sex of a skeleton along with the general assumption that larger traits are male, including skulls and sizable areas where muscles attach to bone.


But archeologists have admitted mistakes in overlooking intersex individuals, along with small-statured men or large-statured women, according to Discover Magazine and other experts.

Riley Gaines
Riley Gaines asked her professor, “If you were to dig up a human, two humans a hundred years from now, both a man and a woman, could you tell the difference strictly off of bones?” Yearwood replied no to her question.Twitter/IWF
Intersex people may present physically as male or female but in fact have neither XY nor XX chromosomes.


They may instead have a mix such as XXY.


On Friday, some observers argued it may take more information than bones to accurately identify gender.


“Sex encompasses the SUM of different biological attributes, including sex chromosomes, certain genes, gametes, sex hormone levels, internal and external genitalia, other secondary sex characteristics, brain neurology and gender,” said one Twitter user wrote.


“Those attributes are not always aligned.”





It wasn’t immediately clear where or when the discussion led by Yearwood took place.


Yearwood didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
 
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