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Little girl's rant about why things are 'man-made' is hysterical and on point

She's asking the tough questions.

@desirously.ambitious/Instagram

What CAN'T is be "people-made," though?

Language evolves as humanity evolves. We know this. History has proven it over and over again.

And yet, there’s still so much resistance when certain linguistic changes are tied to gender issues. The introduction of they/them pronouns comes to mind as an example. Many well-meaning, grammar nerds (myself included) bristled at the thought of incorporating this kind of language, even if they fully supported the idea behind the concept.

But when we get too stuck in the weeds of semantics, we miss the opportunity for vital transformative conversations.

Take for instance a video that came out around 2021—and the debate it sparked—when a little girl questioned why things were “man-made,” rather than “people-made.”

In the clip (whose source is undetermined but shared across several platforms) the girl passionately explains to her mother how she heard the term in her social studies class, and how much it irked her, since it seemed to only regard men as creators.

“Aren’t women building the Eiffel Tower or something? Aren’t women allowed to build stuff?!” she exclaims.

She then refers to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which stated that “all men are created equal.”

“Aren’t women created equal too? Why don’t they say all people are created equal?!” she prods.

Down in the comments, people applauded the little girl’s hilarious gusto.

“You go girl. Little genius,” one person wrote.

Another added, “keep that critical thinking cap on, little mama.”

As to be expected, many people also commented on how the little girl’s argument was unjustified, since, linguistically speaking, it is implied that both men and women are included in the word “man.”

“She is missing the point! Man in this sense is a plural word, meaning man and woman,” one person wrote.”

Another added, “I am so over this. Man made = huMAN, woMAN, MAN! The term is already inclusive of all genders. Stop looking for problems where there aren't any. I'm so sick of this nonsense.”

But is it really nonsense? After all, we need only look to our Constitution to know that women have certainly not always been included in language that pertains to “all men.” Or we could look to all the many instances throughout history in which patriarchal values (that is, values which undermine a woman’s inherent and equal worth) silently shaped the way we lived our everyday lives.

Not to mention that this argument denies language’s true nature—to change along with our own levels of awareness. Perhaps the reality is that this little girl is performing her job as a member of the younger generation, by questioning things older generations might take for granted. After all, we don’t create change by not asking uncomfortable questions.

Bottom line: we have not always been an inclusive society. It is reflected in our language. As we collectively continue to become more inclusive, so too will that be reflected in our language. That’s a good thing. It’s a marker of progress. Think of all the energy we spend combating these inevitable changes when we could instead allow them to help us grow as people.

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Kids surprise deaf cafeteria worker by learning sign language to communicate with her

Their teacher helped them learn new words every week.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Kids surprise deaf cafeteria worker by learning sign language.

Here at Upworthy, we try to bring you heartwarming stories, so when we came across this story by My Modern Met, we knew we had to share it.

Kids are always surprising adults with questions or new skills they've learned. Young students at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School in Suffolk, Virginia, wanted to be able to communicate with the cafeteria worker who served them breakfast and lunch everyday. So they learned how.

Leisa Duckwall is deaf and had been working at the school for four years serving the students and staff. Because Duckwall cannot hear, she and the students did the best they could to make it work, until a teacher had an idea. Kari Maskelony, who teaches fourth grade, spoke with Duckwall using American Sign Language (ASL) and noticed the cafeteria went silent.

Students watched in awe as the two women used their hands to communicate. Maskelony grew up in a family that was hard of hearing, so sign language was part of her life, according to My Modern Met. After seeing the reaction of students, Maskelony asked the kids if they would like to learn the language.

One in eight people aged 12 and older in the United States have hearing loss in both ears. Around the world there are more than 70 million people who use sign language to communicate, yet not many people outside of the deaf community know sign language. The lack of access to sign language from the hearing world makes moving through life more difficult for deaf people. While places like Starbucks and Disney are working to include ASL, it's not widely used by businesses.

Now this cafeteria worker may finally be able to communicate with the students that come through her line. According to My Modern Met, the principal got wind of what was happening and decided to make it a schoolwide effort, including having morning announcements via video that taught a new word in sign language weekly.

Duckwall told My Modern Met, “Not only is it great for the kids because they can learn a new skill that they can carry with them and actually use with other people that they meet,” she said, “but I think it (is) great because equal inclusivity and equal access is so important. It’s just something that we don’t often see.”

The elementary school posted a video of the children ordering lunch using ASL and people in the comments can't get enough of the exchange. Kimberly Duncan wrote, "I wish all schools taught asl! This is a great idea!" Cheyenne Smith said, "This touched my heart in a way like no other."

All of the comments under the video praised the teacher and the school for teaching the children such an amazing skill that they can carry with them outside of the elementary school walls.

If Duckwall had any doubt that her school cared about her experience there, she can now rest assured that her students worked hard to make sure they could communicate in a language she could understand. That's the sweetest gift these little ones could give.

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Georgia introduces all-terrain wheelchairs to make its state parks more accessible

The great outdoors belong to everyone.

@Aimee_Copeland/Instagram

Aimee Copeland is a quadruple amputee and advocate for those with physical disabilities.

We all know that Mother Nature is often the best medicine to relieve stress, improve fitness and increase happiness. However, these benefits aren’t always accessible to everyone. Hiking trails are next to impossible for many with physical disabilities, especially wheelchair users.

That’s why the Aimee Copeland Foundation, an organization created by a master social worker and quadruple amputee to help build a more inclusive community, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have collaborated to provide an innovative way to make outdoor recreation more obtainable—through a fleet of all-terrain, free-to-use wheelchairs scattered across 11 of Georgia’s state parks and historic sites.

Each chair is equipped to hike, hunt, fish and easily travel through difficult terrains like mud, water, sand and snow. And since the devices were designed with safety in mind, certification and a “buddy” are required to qualify for use. That said, visitors who qualify include those with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries and lower limb amputations.

“Our mission is to provide outdoor opportunities for every Georgia citizen and visitor,” said Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites Director Jeff Cown in a press release. “I am proud to partner with the Aimee Copeland Foundation to offer access to visitors with mobility or physical disabilities.”

As Cory Lee, 32-year-old travel blogger and wheelchair user, notes in an interview with The Washington Post, this could be life-changing for many people. Lee has covered accessible adventures throughout the world, and yet has never been able to properly explore his home state of Georgia, as his regular wheelchair couldn’t handle the trails.


Lee had previously traveled to other states that provided terrain-ready wheelchairs, like Muskegon State Park in Michigan. Traversing the three-mile shoreline in his rented all-terrain wheelchair “allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said. Now, he and others will be able to have that kind of independence in even more places throughout the country. In addition to Michigan and Georgia, South Dakota, Colorado and Minnesota have similar programs.

Independence and mobility have been noted to be the most vital factors in determining quality of life for those with disabilities. Despite the stigmas surrounding them, wheelchairs are valuable tools for providing this kind of autonomy. It’s lovely that more advancements are being made to improve a device that already helps so many fully live their lives. Hopefully even more take on this idea.

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Culture

Viral photo of 2-year-old watching ‘Encanto’ is the perfect example of why representation matters

via Budiey/Flickr

Disney's 'Encanto' is a landmark in film representation.

As the old saying goes, “If you can see it, you can be it,” but unfortunately, many children don’t see themselves adequately represented in the media. This subconsciously limits their perceptions of who they can be and what they can achieve in the world.

A mother, Kaheisha Brand, uploaded a photo of her 2-year-old son Kenzo to Instagram last month and it was the perfect example of the joy a child experiences when being able to see themselves as part of the story.

Kenzo was watching Disney’s new animated film, “Encanto,” and seemed to notice that he looked a lot like Antonio, one of the characters in the film. “Encanto” is a musical adventure that tells the story of a family that lives in the mountains of Colombia.

Kaheisha took the photo because she found it was powerful to see people of color represented in ways she hadn’t experienced as a child. "It means the world to me, again, I didn't have the same experience growing up," she told Good Morning America. "I do believe there is power in representation and it does empower young black and brown children."

“It made me feel emotional to know that my son was able to see this and have that experience," his father, Keith Brooks, added.

Let's hope that Kenzo dresses up like Antonio for Halloween this year and his mother posts it to her Instagram account. That would be a wonderful sight to see.

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