The terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ should not be used in science because they assume sex is binary, a group of researchers has suggested.

The recommendation is one of many made by the EEB (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) Language Project, which includes scientists in the United States and Canada.

“Much of western science is rooted in colonialism, white supremacy and patriarchy, and these power structures continue to permeate our scientific culture,” some of its members wrote in a paper published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. In their view, the language used by researchers often bolsters a discriminatory status quo and should change.

Instead of male and female they recommended that biologists use terms such as “sperm-producing” or “egg-producing” to avoid reinforcing “heteronormative views”.