The original article says women. Unless they are using women with small hands as code for children.

I would hope a social studies teacher would understand the pitfalls of Western orientalism and Western cultures obsession with describing other groups as ‘its’ rather than as whole persons.

But if we’re going to objectify people, why don’t we get real technical about it. Why not move manufacturing to other east Asian countries? Even outside of East Asia, you can find many countries with less labor protections and large populations where you can select for millions of people with small hands. Why China? Anyone who is being intellectually honest knows that hand size was not the central reason.

If this is widely accepted then Western culture has a long way to go when it comes to facing its history of racial objectification. Because this sounds less like a valid rationale and more like modern phrenology presenting itself as business and engineering acumen.

Young Chinese women have small fingers, and that has made them a valuable contributor to iPhone production because they are more nimble at installing screws and other miniature parts in the small device, supply chain experts said. In a recent analysis the company did to explore the feasibility of moving production to the United States, the company determined that it couldn’t find people with those skills in the United States, said two people familiar with the analysis who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/technology/apple-iphone-trump-india-china.html

They’re supposedly paraphrasing “supply chain experts” but they could definitely paraphrase better.

Western culture is built on a foundation of race based hierarchical brain rot and isn’t it remarkable how it always finds a way to remind us of that?

All of which are pitfalls of modern living.

Lack of mobility = back pain

Anxiety = Financial security, work/life balance

Can’t sleep = Looking at a screen all day.

This should not be assumed at the expense of a thorough evaluation at onset but so much of this is by design with our current way of living.

Potential remedies once more serious conditions have been ruled out is regular walks, reconnecting with nature, decreasing screen time and embedding oneself in a sense of community (which will mean different things for different folks).

Humans simply don’t live a balanced lifestyle anymore (especially when it comes to caloric intake and activity). Restoring that balance should be the first step before we start throwing pharmaceuticals around.