The condition of being unable to produce offspring; or the state of being completely free from germs and bacteria.
From Latin 'sterilis' meaning 'barren' or 'unfruitful,' possibly related to an ancient root meaning 'stiff' or 'rigid.' The meaning branched into medical/biological contexts.
In medicine, hospitals obsess over sterility to prevent infections, but ironically, living in a too-sterile environment weakens your immune system—your body actually needs to 'practice' fighting germs, which is why kids who play in dirt often get sick less often as adults.
Female infertility became medicalized and moralized as personal failure, while male sterility remained clinical. Women faced social stigma, legal restrictions, and forced sterilization; male sterility was treated as a medical problem. This asymmetry persists in reproductive medicine language.
Use 'infertility' or 'fertility challenges' for medical/personal contexts. 'Sterility' in non-biological contexts (sanitation, ideas) is fine. When discussing reproduction, center the person's agency, not their reproductive capacity.
["infertility","fertility challenges","aseptic (for sanitation)"]
Women have pioneered reproductive medicine and fertility science, yet are often positioned as passive patients rather than agents of their own reproductive autonomy.
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