Natural Cuckolds?
La terminologie biologique. Cocus naturels ou le langage de la biologie
Résumé
Issues of terminology have been raised in the field of sociobiology, especially from women biologists with a feminist perspective. Their question was whether one could expand human categories like “rape”, “harem”, “monogamy”, “machismo”, or “homosexuality” beyond the description of human social behaviors. What do those categories mean, when applied indifferently to all animals (including humans)? Some have suspected that deeply rooted anthropomorphism in concepts and language might engender unexamined assumptions, biased questions, a selective use of animal models, as well as distortions and fallacious representations in the use of data. New terms have been put forward: for example, “kleptogamy” instead of “cuckoldry”; or “forced copulation” instead of “rape”. But how far should terminological awareness go? While some have suggested that “emotionally suggestive” jargon, liable to engender semantic slips, should be replaced with a strictly descriptive vocabulary, others simply claim that “colorful” terms should not be excluded on the pretext that they might have emotional associations. For instance, a term like “sneakers” says in a very efficient way what periphrastic sentences like “cryptically colored males that gain mates surreptitiously” would say in a more convoluted manner.
Une première version de ce texte a été présentée en anglais sous le titre « Natural Cuckolds? Sociobiological Jargon and its Feminist Critiques », lors du colloque de l'ISHPSSB.
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