Full list of 24 ‘harmful’ terms scientists want to ban including ‘female’ and ‘invasive’
Now woke researchers want to ban the word FEMALE: Full list of all 24 ‘harmful’ terms biologists want axed…
- EEB Language Project has published a list of ‘harmful terminology’ in science
- The scientists have instead published a revised list of ‘replacement terms’
- Read more: Replace female with ‘egg-producing’, scientists say
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‘Female’, ‘invasive’ and ‘survival of the fittest’.
These are just three of the terms scientists now argue deserve to be banned.
In a new crackdown on ‘harmful terminology’ in science, members of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Language Project – founded by scientists in the US and Canada – have published a list of 24 ‘harmful terms’ regularly used.
Deemed ‘offensive’, they’ve instead suggested a revised list of ‘replacement terms’.
Writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, researchers said efforts to ‘champion inclusive language’ in science is ‘particularly important for redressing the ongoing marginalization of many groups’.
So which 24 terms are in the firing line?
Harmful Term Context Replacement Term alien / non-native / exotic / invasive Xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and militaristic Non-endemic species / Newly arrived species / Non-Indigenous species / Introduced species / Nuisance species blind / double blind / plant blindness Disability metaphor Awareness citizen science ‘Citizen science’ is harmful to non-citizens who are excluded by that language Participant science / Community science / feminized / masculinized Feminized implies that ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ are biological traits rather than social constructs Describe the specific traits gypsy Racial slur used to incite violence against Romani people ‘Spongy moth’ man / woman Highly anthropomorphic / Biases towards men or male traits Male or female / Human names after racist / eugenic / colonizers They hold up problematic figures as noteworthy/someone to remember or celebrate Use Indigenous names / Use local names / Name based on appearance or morphology / Remove names from concepts survival of the fittest Eugenics, ablelism, and social Darwinism Natural selection / Survival differences Gender Gender, a social construct, is often conflated with sex Sex Hermaphrodite Derogatory term used to cause harm to the intersex and trans individuals. Monoecious/intersex/bi-gametic Indian A discrominatory, racist, term used to describe indigenous people Indigenous Male/female These terms are used to reinforce societally-imposed ideas of a sex binary, emphasising cis-normative and hetero-normative views Sperm-producing/egg-producing or XY/XX individual Mother/father These terms perpetuate a non-universal heteronormative and cisnormative view of the parenting and birthing process. Parent/egg-donor/sperm-donor Noose Term associated with anti-Black violence and lynching Lasso Primitive/advanced Used derogatorily towards humans or human practices, and also scientifically inaccurate as implies an evolutionary hierarchy Ancestral/derived race Perpetuates the idea that human race is a biological rather than social construct when used to describe non-human subspecies Population/subspecies/ecotype virgin A social construct that reinforces heteropatriarchal norms Unmated colonization / colonizer Terms are harmful and triggering for Indigenous people that have been subjugated to colonialism, racism, and genocide and use of the term describes normalizes it as natural phenomonen rather than a destructive one with human context. established / early successional species discover / discovery Erases the longstanding, detailed ecological knowledge of Indigenous communities that have been involved with local environments and ecosystems before colonialism and western science. identified / described harem Perpetuates offensive stereotypes of human cultures, particlularly those of the Middle East, and evokes a sexualized human power structure in which women are assumed to be subjucated to men. mating group / polygny master / master file / master equation / master variable Perpetuates harmful stereotypes and connotations to the enslavement of people of color and normalizes language implicated with slavery and enslaved people. primary / main document / primary equation or variable Old World / New World Perpetuates a colonial and Eurocentric view of the world that is offensive to the international community and Indigenous peoples that lived in the region and contributed to scientific knowledge before European colonialism. the relevant location rape Equates rape with a reproductive strategy rather than a violent and traumatic act, which can lead to dangerous misconceptions that is a natural behavior, and the use of the term forces survivors to be confronted with it which is traumatic. forced copulation slave and/or master / slave-making ants / slavery Normalizes slavery and colonoliasm as a natural phenomonen in the wild, which if harmful to cultures and people of color subjugated to these practices and does not represent the animal behavior accurately. host and parasite / ‘pirate’ ants / coercion 
In a new crackdown on ‘harmful terminology’ in science, members of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Language Project – founded by scientists in the US and Canada – have published a list of the ‘top 24 harmful terms’ used in science
Read more: Replace female with ‘egg-producing’ and avoid using the term ‘fitness’, woke scientists say in push to get rid of ‘harmful’ phrases
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