Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a fantabulous January, and I hope that February is treating you just as well so far! This post concerns something I touched on a little bit before, but recently a friend of mine asked me about it, so I figured I'd make it into a post all of its own.
So often times, when I go somewhere I get comments like "oh you're like the women from that show". Now, not having cable, I'm not up and with all of the shows that showcase little people, so I only think of Little People Big World (which I personally think is a great show). But mostly, the people I run into are referring to the show Little Women of Atlanta (or whatever city the show happens to be in.
Now from what little I've seen of the show, and from what I've heard of the show, the women are loud boisterous individuals who go around clubbing, drinking, causing drama, and other such shall I say, PG-13 activity. Now, I don't know about you guys, but that's not really how I carry myself. I dress conservatively, for, I do work in a nursing home; got to keep those blood pressure levels of the residents down you know? I don't like to cause drama, and frankly, I like to have a good reputation. I don't really measure myself up to the ladies of this show.
Now, I understand that they're playing a part, and they're TRYING to be ridiculous. But here's the thing, people are associating these looks and behaviors with me. Some people think reality tv is real. This is the only portrayal of little people that they are seeing, so it is reasonable to believe that they think that I am going to act this way.
Dwarfism affects 1 in 25,000 births. So essentially 0.0025% of the population is affected by dwarfism. So what I'm trying to get at is, this is the only representation you're really going to get, and I'm going to be so bold as to say, it is not positive representation.
Now, go ahead, say what you want. They're doing what they want, they chose to act that way, what ever... You know how you want ethnic Disney princesses so that little girls and boys can have positive Disney role models from different cultures? Yeah, I want some positive representation for people with dwarfism. Is that too much to ask? Hopefully not.
Now, I'm not just hating on this one show. I am sure that if I met these ladies they would be absolutely lovely! But when you think about little people actors in movies, you probably think of Vern Troyer, Peter Dinklage, and maybe Warwick Davis. And you probably think of their roles (maybe not in this order) Mini-Me, Tyrion Lannister, and an Ewok. Now, aside from choice moments of Tyrion, these characters aren't much to think about. They are not characters that you cherish and think about fondly. Honestly, people think of them endearingly, or they laugh at them. That is not how I want my culture to be represented in the media.
Lesser known movies that I really enjoy that showcase a dwarf character are Simon Birch and The Station Agent. Both of these movies are enjoyed by my family, not necessarily because they have a dwarf character (though it is a perk) but because of the good story line and acting.
Without going on a tangent for pages and pages, which I very well could, here's the point of the post: publicity on little people has to change. We have to change how the dwarf culture is represented. The media is a wonderful medium to get through to so many people all around the world in such a short period of time. But the media is only wonderful if we use it the right way. So just like we want to represent minority cultures in a positive way, we should be representing ALL cultures in a positive way.
Peace, Love, and Otters my friends
Laura
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