By: Sarah Knapton

Published: Feb 14, 2023

The words “male” and “female” should be phased out in science because they reinforce ideas that sex is binary, scientists have suggested.

Researchers studying ecology and evolutionary biology should be encouraged to use terms such as “sperm-producing” or “egg producing” or “XY/XX individual” to avoid “emphasising hetero-normative views”, experts say.

Other words and terms deemed problematic include man, woman, mother, father, primitive, advanced, alien, invasive, exotic, non-native and race.

The terms were gathered as part of the EEB (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) Language Project, founded by a collaboration of scientists in the US and Canada who claim some terminology is not inclusive, and could be harmful.  

Even one of the most famous scientific concepts of all time, the “survival of the fittest”, should no longer be used because it discriminates against people with disabilities and is linked to eugenics, they advise. 

Speaking about the term "fitness" - widely used in biology to signify the success of a species in its habitat - Haley Branch, a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia (UBC) said: “The definition is about reproductive output, which doesn't take into account individuals that don't produce offspring.”

However, critics warned that abandoning traditional terms for the sake of inclusivity could leave science lacking precision, as well as causing confusion. 

Prof Frank Furedi, an education expert at the University of Kent, said: “I think that when you characterise terms like male/female, mother/father as harmful you are abandoning science for ideological advocacy.

“Regardless of intent, the project of re-engineering language will cause confusion to many and the last thing that scientists need is a lack of clarity about the meaning of the words they use.”

The EEB Language Project, which was launched in this month’s Trends in Ecology and Evolution journal, is compiling a repository of “problematic” words that have been identified by scientists as harmful and suggests alternatives.

For example, they have flagged up the term “citizen science” saying it could be “harmful to non-citizens” who may feel excluded. Instead, they suggest “participant science or community science”.

The term “invasive” or “non-native species” is also deemed to be “xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and militaristic”, and could be replaced with “newly-arrived” or “nuisance species”, they suggest.  

Even the phrase “double-blind” - which is often used to describe trials in which neither the participants nor scientists know if they are on a drug or placebo - has been deemed potentially offensive to those with disabilities. 

Other words such as “optimisation” can be misleading, the scientists claim, because it perpetuates the idea that a species is evolving towards a defined permanent optimum.

Dr Danielle Ignace of UBC said: “The EEB Language Project will be a living document, as particular words that are harmful and their alternatives can change over time.

“People can submit their suggestions online and have their voices heard. They can also get more involved as an individual, as an institution, or at the community level. The hope is that this grassroots effort brings people together.”

The EEB Language Project said it will “provide resources and support action to reconsider harmful terminology at the levels of individuals, institutions and broader scientific communities”.

Proponents of the changes say that although the use of “harmful” language is not usually intentional they warn “inadvertent harm” can arise as a result of the “inherent complexities and historical legacies of language”.

Changing terminology is something that individual researchers can do to boost inclusivity at an individual level, they said. 

Dr Kaitlyn Gaynor, an author on the paper who studies the impact of human activity on biodiversity at the university, said: “The project started as a Twitter conversation among a few people discussing potentially harmful terminology.

“We reached out to different networks in ecology and evolution that were focused on increasing inclusion and equity in the field to rally support for one very specific action - revising terminology that might be harmful to certain people, particularly those from groups historically and currently excluded from science.”

[ Via: https://archive.vn/k1qj6 ]

==

These people are completely insane. We shouldn't be allowing them access to sharp utensils, much less control over language and knowledge.

It wasn't long ago that they'd be pulling this kind of thing quietly and behind the scenes. And then some NPC would be like, "LiTeRaLLy nOoNe iS sAyInG tHaT!".

Now they've colonized such a vast empire of ideological territory that they don't even bother hiding it, and do it in plain sight as a moral good.

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it."

-- George Orwell, "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

We occupy such a boiling pot of water that it's hard to remember a time when nonsense like this was completely inconceivable, when the idea of anyone suggesting it was the stuff of Monty Pythonian absurdity. Now it happens every day.

"Egg-producers" and "un-egg-producers" is still a binary, by the way. They're just Newspeak for female and male.

Me: “These ableist assholes are literally killing us and they can go fuck themselves.”

Some asshole every time: “Well I disagree with the *language* but you do have a point…”

Are you seriously out here language policing me when I’m calling out bigotry? Are you fucking serious right now? Ok, here’s what I’m going to need you to do. Listen carefully now. Are you listening?

GET FUCKED.

Think I'm gonna start calling myself a faggot irl cause I'm so sick of queer people being policed on our own fucking language. I can't think of even 1 other marginalized group who comes even close to the language policing that comes from inside and outside of our communities

Faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot

To ADD to that, anything can be a slur if it's said with enough venom. Someone calling themselves a fag, or lovingly refering to someone as such, or even using it as a fucking identifying term are not saying slurs. It's reclamation. Literally fuck off

Let's not forget that English was and remains an imperial language, and that a lot of where this particular energy comes from is rooted in colonial ideologies about 'proper grammar' and evidently so -policing Black people's verbatim, vernacular (AAVE), and inflections (because it is obvious what this teacher is doing in many of these cases) is racist. I find it BEYOND irrepressible when so-called western/European scholars/professors do this without reflecting about how bigoted they are.

This professor calling the words/statements on this list as 'gibberish,' and 'inappropriate' IS degrading and demonizing. And going so far as to say by using anything on this list in your speech you're somehow inferior as academics and as writers... the AUDACITY.

There is a HUGE difference between formal and informal writing -whether it be for a essay, or even an email versus tone policing people in their everyday speech in ways that reinforce racist prejudices about the language people are using. Because this isn't about a student starting their papers with "You ate that up!" without context, it's about what this teacher/Professor is HEARING in their classrooms whether through discussion or before or after classes... I just... a part from letting students express themselves -saying everyone has to speak like they're writing an academic paper is ridiculous nonsense.

Also the fact that she said it's "improper English" when all languages are made up of words -and the English language is just that -MADE UP OF WORDS -and based from a lot from cultures all around the world. Clearly she needs to do her own damn research.

In any case, seeing this boils my blood. Because I have SO much love for teachers who go over and above their roles, versus the slimy racist scum that end up in academic settings like this because people like her shouldn't be teaching.

I'm obsessed with this deleted scene, I see people mischaracterizing Daryl as stupid all the time. Man's always been smart. They shoulda kept this scene in because some of y'all needed that spelled out 💀

Happy Pride Month fellas!! You guys are crazy if you think for a second I ain’t gonna do a pride post with the most goofiest husbands ever ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜

+ silly Sam & Max sketches and a lil sona pride doodle :]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey chesire police, go fuck yourselves. [x]

anyway, heres a link to esther gheys - briannas mother - gofundme, its on the behalf of the mindfulness in schools project.

Link: University department removes the word 'field' over racist 'connotations'

Link: Stanford replacing 'harmful' words on university website, including 'American' and 'Hispanic'

If you have the power to take away people’s careers, reputations and voices, you’re the regime not the rebellion.

on (language around) transfeminine bodies as sites of social-reproductive labor

Almost every day I think about that first post I saw a few years ago where someone decided that people enjoying the cuteness of otters needed to be destroyed for the sake of ‘reality’ and ‘facts’. The post was open from start to finish that they were telling you that otters did ‘horrible things’ because they wanted to ‘break the illusion’ or whatever. It was full of language and tone that implied or outright said that people were ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’ for liking otters, and that they should be punished with this information. This fact. This fact that was a twisted form of humans applying their moral concepts on to wild animals, to begin with, but was also simply being put out in to the world to hurt people for liking that animal. And then I think about how everyone started sharing this ‘fact’, post after post sharing the same tone and language of punishment, of implied ‘stupidity’ for ‘not knowing’. People gleefully commented this ‘fact’ on thousands of otter picture posts, they posted it a million times on the otter fan facebooks, they made tiktoks, they hammered it in over and over again. Don’t like otters. Don’t think they’re cute. They’re Bad™️. You’re a Bad™️ person if you like them. And people genuinely believed that. I saw so many people genuinely hurt by this, who thought they were a bad person and needed to stop liking or sharing otter pictures. Or they’d add a little note at the bottom, ‘I know otters are Bad™️ but I still think they’re cute.’ And I can’t not think about how pointlessly fucked up and cruel that entire thing was from the start, and how manipulative and shitty it was. And how it spun out into the universe until even now, on an otter video posted earlier this year, there’s dozens of comments about how otters are Bad™️ because one person decided that this wild animal doing something that is repugnant to humans, the animal with no knowledge that this is Bad™️ or with malicious intent (because it’s a wild fucking animal), meant they needed to hurt and punish anyone who liked that animal. And, finally, that people were so afraid of being seen as morally wrong/Bad™️ that they destroyed their love for this animal on the word of some fucking rando online without stopping to look internally at their own moral compass and understanding of animal behavior.

Redraw of past oc made..four months ago?

Belongs to the colony Oardivian created by —> @dimorphodon-x

Drawfee posted some words regarding the upcoming PCRF stream on saturday (which everyone should be at!)

TLDR they want to reaffirm that while antisemitism is never allowed in their community, they believe that advocacy for Palestine is not hate speech and will not be censoring pro-Palestine speech in their chat during the stream.

Transcript under cut

[Image ID: two instagram post screenshots from @drawfee. Both are black text on a white background with the drawfee logo in the bottom right. The first image reads:

Our PCRF charity stream is this Saturday! While we are looking forward to a fun and entertaining few hours of drawing and fundraising, we also recognize that by choosing this particular cause to get involved in, we are stepping into topics that are significantly more sensitive than the content you are used to on our channel. We've listened to the concerns from the community and want to ensure we're setting the right expectations.

Our primary goal with this stream is to provide aid to Palestinians facing a dire humanitarian crisis. We will be encouraging our audience to both donate to the PCRF and to urge their elected representatives to back a ceasefire. We believe that rallying our wonderful community towards tangible actions is the best use of our platform in this instance.

We hold a strict policy against antisemitism and hate speech across all our streams, and this event will be no exception.

Our moderators will be vigilant in maintaining a respectful and safe environment for everyone.

(The second image reads:)

We recognize that some phrases and slogans associated with Palestinian liberation can be controversial within our diverse community. While there are varied interpretations and feelings towards these expressions, we do not view them as inherently antisemitic. We do not believe it is our place to police the language that Palestinians use to advocate for their own freedom and safety, so we will not censor pro-Palestinian speech in chat during the stream. We recognize that this stance will not please everyone in our community, but ultimately it is what best reflects our values. If you have reservations about our decision on this matter, we respectfully suggest that this particular stream might not be for you.

Choosing to do this stream meant accepting the risk of causing division within our community and potentially losing followers, but the chance to make a real difference for those in need far outweighs any drawbacks.

Thank you to our wonderful community for predominantly being supportive of our decision to do this and for being caring compassionate people. Your encouragement reinforces our decision. Looking forward to Saturday!

End ID.]

Oh oh!!!!! Can you do prompts about "Language"!!!

Been wanting to write a language related fic for months but can't think of any cool ideas :(

Best regards,

@heroes-villains-side-blog

Ah, apologies for the delay, I’m not always online.

Anyway, let’s see what I can do:

Language

There’s yet another prophecy about doomsday, but it’s encrypted/in an ancient language. Time for Hero to ask for Renowned Linguist’s help once again, aka Villain under their secret identity.

Superhero claims that Citizen’s body language shows that they were lying during their interrogation. They’re not. They just really, really don’t want to be here.

Hero and Villain are the only two who can speak a dying dialect. Reluctantly, this brings them together.

Same idea, but they’re absolute nerds and speak Vulcan or Elvish fluently.

Hero&Sidekick (or Villain&Henchman) share a second language the other team don’t speak. It’s great to yell messages at your ally that your foes can’t understand.

Hero and Villain don’t speak the same language. They need Henchman/Sidekick to be a translator to understand each other. The translation might or might not be accurate.

Villain has captured someone who knows things, but speaks in a language they can’t understand. They use an online translator. Confusion ensues.

Villain has captured someone who knows things, but speaks in a language they can’t understand. They kidnap Sidekick to force them to be a translator. Sidekick tries to communicate with Citizen and find an escape plan together without getting caught.

Villain’s Evil lair has a great gadget able to detect any kind of human voice to detect any intrusion. Shame that Hero speaks ASL, then.

Once captured, Villain has a lot of four-letter words to say about the way the heroes treat them. Hero whumps them into watching their language.

I hope these can be useful to you! (I'll keep your other ask for later.)

*

More prompts like this under this tag.

Back to Hero x Villain Masterlist

Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.

- Mark Twain