Wake researchers have called for terms like “fitness” to be revised as part of a crackdown on “harmful terminology” in science.
The team of experts from the US and Canada said the word is vague and tricky – discriminating against people with disabilities.
The recommendation applies to the field of biology, where fitness is used to describe reproductive success in specific species.
It comes amid a wider push to change the language to make it less offensive, with doctors arguing last summer that the term morbid obesity should be dropped.
The term “optimization” enforces the idea that a species evolves toward a defined, fixed optimum, say researchers (Stock)
The oppression of the term “fitness” is exposed in an article published today in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
It was co-authored by researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and universities across the US, including Michigan, California and New Jersey.
They want a rethinking of terminology in the scientific fields of evolution and ecology – the study of the relationship between species and their environment.
They argue that both scientific disciplines have a history “rooted in eugenics, heroism, and racism” and that some of that legacy is embedded in colloquial terms.
Another word they are directed at is “optimization,” which refers to values that maximize an organism’s chances of survival in a given environment.
But the researchers say this perpetuates the misconception that there is a fixed optimum for species.
NIH-funded report criticized for labeling women as ‘people who want to milk’
A US government-funded prison report has come under fire after replacing the term “women” with “people who give birth” and “parents who give birth”.
The initiative, called the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Language Project, arose out of a Twitter conversation between some people discussing potentially harmful language.
The project will be a living document where people can submit proposals online.
Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor, one of the collaborating researchers from the University of British Columbia, said: “We reached out to various ecology and evolutionary networks that aim to increase inclusion and equity in this area for support for a very specific action to collect: the revision of terminology that may be harmful to certain individuals, especially those of groups historically and currently excluded from science.’
The EEB language project and Ms. Tak’s research team acknowledges that the harm caused by such terminology is in most cases unintentional, as what may be offensive to one may not be considered problematic to another.
Dr. Alex Moore, another University of British Columbia researcher involved in the project, said: “There have been a lot of good conversations about inclusion in this area and often there are no clear steps that people need to take.
“It was important for us to think of a manageable approach that people could apply in their work at an individual level – and at different levels within the discipline – to make informed decisions moving forward.”
Source link
Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
