edit: The reason I find it an odd term is because human ancestry literally doesn’t follow a line. It always branches off, even if only to just include two parents. It’s a tree like structure, a line would misrepresent it

  • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
    101·
    16 days ago

    Who is actually using this term? I’ve only heard it in like medieval period fiction.

    If I heard anyone start rambling about their bloodline I would immediately start to wonder if they were a fascist.

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      16 days ago

      It’s like “female”. Nothing wrong with it per se, especially in a biological conversation, but it’s more used with animals.

      • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
        6·
        16 days ago

        I think it’s a bit different. Female at least refers to a real biological trait (or at least collection of traits). As a scientist I use the word female in my work all of the time, and frankly I’m not sure what alternatives to it even exist.

        Bloodline is like… weird racist antiquated European ideas about ancestry that are more or less completely unscientific and wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever once heard it used in a scientific context.

        Maybe it’s used in animal breeding but that’s because animal breeding has uncomfortable connections with outdated race “science”. It doesn’t come from the real scientific community.