Simon Minty's recent thoughts and more

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...

It seemed inevitable that one day there would be a podcast of Phil Friend and me chatting about all things disability. Phil and I have been having such conversations for nearly twenty years, until now, unrecorded, whilst working, travelling or just hanging out together. We have different backgrounds, we are different generations, have divergent politics and different comfort zones. We both share a commitment and passion for equality, fairness and inclusion of disabled people and have spent many years working to achieve it or at least some progress. The great thing about our discussions are that we know one another so well and respect each other so don't have to pull any punches now. Sometimes we're considered, sometimes we shoot from the hip. We can make each other laugh and still, after all this time, make the others jaw drop with a single comment. There's two shows out already. We'll continue to make a show each month until we run out of things to say. Which mea...

Simon Minty guest blogs for BBC Ouch If you spend most of your life surrounded by people who are two feet taller than you, then a week in the company of people who are the same height can be both exhilarating and daunting. This is my first time at the World Dwarf Games and I wasn't at all sure what I'd think of it. With nearly 400 athletes from 17 nations competing, it's the largest sporting event in history exclusively for athletes with dwarfism. Read the full article on BBC Ouch .