Is "Lesbian Lizards" a taboo topic?

Hey Guys;

I am just finishing putting together a slide on asexual reproduction and have thrown a "Lesbian Lizards"slide in there because there is a species of lizard the the New Mexico Whiptail Lizard which is a lizard who's species are entirely female.

As a result, asexual reproduction is the only method of reproduction.

Is the term "Lesbian Lizard" too blunt? I only brought it up because it was how we were taught it. =l

Would upload a screenshot of the slide but TSR is being a pain and won't let me... tried like 5 times now...

Original post by Scienceisgood

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It's not too blunt, it's just factually incorrect. If you are defining lesbian as a description of women who have a sexual preference for women, then that has nothing to do with asexual reproduction. The children of lesbian humans still come from heterosexual reproduction.

Do these lizards have behavioural characteristics that mean they form pair bonds? If so then the analogy of lesbianism is more relevant, but only to their behaviour, not to their reproductive biology.

So the term Lesbian Lizards in a presentation on asexual reproduction seems headline grabbing, but factually incorrect, so it's probably a mistake - especially if you are giving the presentation in a scientific context.

Reply 3

Sammylou40

Your particular obsession with it seems more inappropriate
How many threads do you need to create to ask the same question ?
If it’s not a scientific name don’t use it

Reply 4

Scienceisgood

Original post by Sammylou40

Your particular obsession with it seems more inappropriate
How many threads do you need to create to ask the same question ?
If it’s not a scientific name don’t use it

Actually, I only made this thread after my initial thread got 0 responses (and still has) so, I thought I'd put it here to get a response...