Dwarfism and the ethics of humour
Disability Arts Cymru event Friday 24th July 2020 I was asked to speak at an event, along with Dr Erin Pritchard, who I believe instigated it, and Tammy Reynolds. There are two paragraphs explaining the topic below and then my response. Please note - there are references to depression and suicide in this piece. Dwarfism and the ethics of humour "Why is it that people who are shorter than the ‘average’ person, people born with a variety of conditions under the medical banner of ‘dwarfism’ are so often seen as the butt of the joke, an easy target to make fun of. As children many will experience bullying, some to such an extent that they become suicidal. Yet, there is an industry that exploits people with dwarfism to act in shows such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, once being doubly exploited as they were filmed for a TV show about the seven cast members living in a house together as if that’s especially interesting to watch people go up and down stairs, ope