I think that’s needlessly infantilizing her. She’s 22. She’s not a “little kid”. I think she’s old enough for her opinions to carry weight, so how is she a “little kid”?
I’m not going to take political opinions from a 3 year old, which is about what I’m thinking when someone says “little kid”. Teenagers, like she was when she got famous, can have enough context about the world that their opinions, particularly about things like sustainability, equality, etc, are valid.
I mean, I feel you, I remember aggroing over verbiage like that when I was younger, but as I am now approaching my upper 30s, I find myself referring to basically 25 yos and under as ‘kids’, its not necesarrily always meant in a demeaning, infantilzing way, can be meant more in the sense of…
… ‘has their whole life ahead of them still, it shouldn’t be marred or maimed or traumatized this early’ /
/ ‘they are adults technically yes, but they have far less experience than most other adults’ /
/ ‘they are too young to be beset by such cruelty and hardship, there should be other adults being better adults such that these awful things do not happen.’
I guess what I am trying to say is it becomes a kind of genuine, broad protective connotation, not trying to be belittling, moreso a lament that the world has failed.
Maybe call it a bungled attempt at intergenerational solidarity.
The thing is, she wasn’t just called a kid, but a “little kid”.
Sure, I’d call early 20s kids too. Hell, I’m a kid, I’m only turning 30 this year. But I wouldn’t call someone a “little kid” once they hit their teenage years. The “little” is what makes the difference in tone. Could’ve said “she’s just a kid” and it would’ve been a believable attempt at intergenerational solidarity.
I think that’s needlessly infantilizing her. She’s 22. She’s not a “little kid”. I think she’s old enough for her opinions to carry weight, so how is she a “little kid”?
The youth should have their opinions respected too.
I’m not going to take political opinions from a 3 year old, which is about what I’m thinking when someone says “little kid”. Teenagers, like she was when she got famous, can have enough context about the world that their opinions, particularly about things like sustainability, equality, etc, are valid.
I mean, I feel you, I remember aggroing over verbiage like that when I was younger, but as I am now approaching my upper 30s, I find myself referring to basically 25 yos and under as ‘kids’, its not necesarrily always meant in a demeaning, infantilzing way, can be meant more in the sense of…
… ‘has their whole life ahead of them still, it shouldn’t be marred or maimed or traumatized this early’ /
/ ‘they are adults technically yes, but they have far less experience than most other adults’ /
/ ‘they are too young to be beset by such cruelty and hardship, there should be other adults being better adults such that these awful things do not happen.’
I guess what I am trying to say is it becomes a kind of genuine, broad protective connotation, not trying to be belittling, moreso a lament that the world has failed.
Maybe call it a bungled attempt at intergenerational solidarity.
The thing is, she wasn’t just called a kid, but a “little kid”.
Sure, I’d call early 20s kids too. Hell, I’m a kid, I’m only turning 30 this year. But I wouldn’t call someone a “little kid” once they hit their teenage years. The “little” is what makes the difference in tone. Could’ve said “she’s just a kid” and it would’ve been a believable attempt at intergenerational solidarity.
I absolutely think of 22 as a little kid, but I was there when the last Woolly Mammoth died, so it’s somewhat relative.
Idk, to me “little kid” means “not in school yet”. It’s the “little” that makes the difference, compared to just calling someone a kid or kiddo.
I’m with you. Little kids are like infants and toddlers and shit. Not a 22 year old adult woman.