The EEB language project is designed to improve the language used in the “ecology and evolutionary biology community.” “Community” is, if less so than the appalling “problematic,” often a trigger warning of sorts, a sign of nonsense to come. This project does not disappoint in that respect.
As members of this “community,” readers are told, “it is important to learn, understand, and reflect on words that may change meaning over time.” Spelling out the need for “reflection” is yet another reminder of the quasi-religious nature of this sort of behavior. The faithful are being asked to think carefully about the words they use, lest they no longer be compliant or commit a sin.
Scroll on down, and there is even a ritualistic acknowledgment of unworthiness contained in the team’s “statement of positionality”:
We hold varying degrees of privilege as members of institutions of higher education and on the basis of some of our identities, and recognize that not all perspectives are captured in this piece. We also acknowledge the limitations of our focus on English as the dominant language in EEB, and hope that our framework can be applied to scientific terminology across languages and disciplines.
Turn eagerly to the “repository for harmful terminology,” which is:
[A] repository where harmful terms that have been identified by community members will be listed, along with context explaining why the terms are harmful, and suggestions for words or phrases to use as replacements.
As for the harmful terminology, I was interested to see that “virgin” is included. The correct term, apparently, is “unmated”. The v-word is “a social construct that reinforces heteropatriarchal norms”. As for “male/female,” well, that would never do. Instead, we are offered this elegant alternative:
Sperm-producing/egg-producing or XY/XX individual