Reproduced

/ˌriːprəˈdjuːst/ verb

Definition

Past tense of reproduce, meaning to have created copies or duplicates of something. Can refer to biological reproduction or mechanical copying.

Etymology

From Latin 're-' (again) and 'producere' (to bring forth), literally meaning to bring forth again. The term applies to both biological and mechanical creation of copies.

Kelly Says

The word 'reproduction' applies equally to making babies and making photocopies, showing how we use the same conceptual framework for biological and technological copying. Before mechanical reproduction, all copies had to be made by hand, making each one unique despite being a 'reproduction'.

Ethical Language Guidance

Gender History

The term conflates women's biological reproductive capacity with creative/intellectual production, historically used to minimize or exclude women from non-biological domains of work and thought.

Inclusive Usage

Use 'reproduced' for exact copying/replication (technical, biological). For human creative output, use 'created', 'authored', 'produced' to avoid conflation with reproduction.

Inclusive Alternatives

["created","produced","generated","replicated"]

Empowerment Note

Distinguishing women's creative and intellectual contributions from reproductive roles was critical to feminist scholarship; language choice reinforces or resists this erasure.

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