#dwarfism representation

Hello! For anyone who may be new, I've used the "small and angry archetype" to describe the instances in media where a little person's anger is exaggerated for comedic effect. Some examples include Miles Finch in Elf (2003), Mini Me in Austin Powers (1999-2003), and Dr. Psycho in Harley Quinn (2019):

Because Small and Angry characters are presumed to be of no "real threat" due to their size, their anger is not taken seriously and thus seen as humorous, or in some cases even adorable:

Either way, this archetype lends itself to the real world notion that the anger little people feel is ridiculous, humorous, and not to be taken seriously - or the stereotype that little people are more hot headed.

To answer your question: Would I advise writers new to writing dwarfism not to write their little people with mental disorders that cause mood swings and outbursts to avoid the stereotype?

Hi asker,

If this is a standard for everyone you draw, I think this is probably fine.

When it comes to infantilizing disabilities, specifically dwarfism, the problem is that the person gets singled out as the only one who is “cutesy” or “childlike” due to nothing else but the fact that they’re disabled and, due to their specific disability, very short. Their actual personality gets ignored and it’s just “person with dwarfism = just like a child because of height,” which of course isn’t true. People with dwarfism have the same wide range of personalities and aesthetics just like anyone else does.

Now, in your art specifically, the larger trend is that everyone has a similar, kid-core, pastel, cutesy aesthetic. You’re not singling out the character with dwarfism — part of infantilization due to ableism involves that, zeroing in onto someone’s disability and seeing that disability as the reason that person should be treated like a child without taking into consideration the person’s actual wants and needs.

In fact, it would probably be weird if that was the only character you drew that didn’t have the same aesthetic, and you would in that case be singling them out just because of their disability.

Hope this helps,

I like to rewrite stories or characters, and today I was thinking pretty deeply about Mineta, so now I am going to remake him because it’s funny, lol.

He is a little person and has been bullied for his dwarfism in the past.

He is not a sexual harasser (in fact, he may have actually been a victim of sexual harassment in the past), he just likes sex in general.

He may be autistic and have sex as his special interest.

He is not sexist, nor queerphobic, but an activist for the feminist, LGBTQIA+ and kink-positive movements.

Midnight is his favourite Pro Hero because she is also an activist for these movements.

He wants to become a hero to be a symbol for queer and little people and victims of inappropriate sexual behaviour, and to fight for a society in which little people, women, queer people and abuse victims aren’t dehumanised and there is sexual liberation for all.

He is very similar to Izuku, since both of them were bullied and want to become heroes to help others, and a very good friend to him.

So, which are the things I changed and why did I change them?

I gave a reason for his stature in canon and took advantage of it for good (unless the hypothetical writer of a hypothetical fanfiction with this character rewrite I am making right now would make Mineta a comic relief character or a flat character or would buy into other stereotypes) dwarfism representation, which is sorely lacking in our world. I haven’t specified the type of dwarfism Mineta might have, as I’m not an expert in this area and my focus is more on making his character well-rounded rather than medical accuracy. I would love insights from those with more knowledge on this topic, though!

I erased his sexually harassing behaviour, since he is supposed to be a positive character.

Since the fandom implies that Mineta is sexist by seeing his sexually harassing behaviour and the way he sees women as sexual objects, and since in this rewrite he doesn’t see women as sexual objects nor does he sexually harass them, he is not sexist in this incarnation.

Instead, he is very interested in sex in general and everything that has to do with it. This characteristic may be a result of being a victim of inappropriate sexual behaviour in the past and/or of him being autistic and having a special interest (it will depend on the hypothetical writer of a hypothetical fanfiction with this character rewrite I am making right now).

He knows about BDSM in canon, too (he says a comment on sadomasochism during Bakugou and Uraraka’s match in the Sports Festival, if I am not mistaken), so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to make him kink-positive if he is already a feminist and part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

I have noticed that in the fandom Midnight is generally seen as a feminist, kink-positive and pro-LGBTQIA+, and as an ally for victims of inappropriate sexual behaviour. My Mineta is quite similar to her, and the two are basically mentor and mentee.

I made his dream to become a hero more decent. I still don’t get how, in Season 2’s Final Exams Arc, Recovery Girl could say that wanting to become a hero to be popular with girls could be a good dream to have. Especially because Mineta doesn’t seem very happy to fight, at least at the beginning, and he could definitely be popular with girls in other ways. And even if a character had to have such a shallow goal, it should have at least served a purpose to critique hero society, but it doesn’t (unless it does in the later seasons and I haven’t heard of that, which I doubt).

A while ago I had this video surface on my Instagram feed, of two men with dwarfism critiquing Peter Dinklage, saying "he opened the door from some amazing roles that most little people are not accessible to, and shut the door right behind him when he said 'no seven dwarfs [...] When he came out and said that, it made them too afraid to cast us so they CGIed us"

I wanted to counter this by saying that despite these men's feelings are valid in some ways, (Using CG little people is in terrible taste when you could be casting real actors, and Peter does speak from a place of privilege as a white man) but we're reaching an amazing point in film where actors with dwarfism are able to step away from roles that no longer serve our community. Actors like Peter Dinklage and Francesca Mills are at the forefront of this incredible turning point we're seeing for little and disabled talents - and while change is never linear, embracing more serious roles will humanize little people and allow us to share our true stories.

Violet Ferguson says is splendidly in her video response:

"I am going to hold every single little person's hand when I say this, but the minute the dwarfism community acknowledges that our talent reaches far beyond the narrow boxes that we've been placed in and that we continue to place ourselves in, is when the industry will finally lose it's ability to capitalize off of these roles. We are worth so much more than these stereotypical roles and people with dwarfism need to realize that these roles are not the be-all-end-all. Peter Dinklage was able to acknowledge his self worth and tell the industry that our community is worth more than playing fantasy roles or roles that define our height. And unfortunately, there are some people in the community who have just not gotten to that stage of their self discovery journey yet - and instead of doing some self reflecting they take it out on a man who just wants better for his community"

Hello!! Yes I've mentioned Amethyst in passing, but I'd love to discuss her since I feel she's a great example of dwarfism within a non-human race!

Here we see that Amethyst is the same height as our main boy Steven (about 3 foot 5) and as Peridot who is average for her gem type.

In Steven Universe we establish that all the various gems have standard sizes that suit their professions and purpose - Amethysts are tall, broad, and intended as soldiers or guards. We learn that Amethyst was "born" late (emerged from her hole late) and is significantly smaller than she "should be". As a result, she faces a lot of internalized ableism wherein she feels incredibly alienated from her kind - it's a major point of character growth throughout the show. She later comes to find that there are other gems of differing sizes and "off colours", and that her fellow Amethysts embrace her completely.

So so excited for Francesca Mill's role as Ophelia in Hamlet!!! Gosh I adore her!!!