M Word

Little People of Ireland (LPI) advocates abolishing the use of the word midget. The dwarfism community has voiced that they prefer to be referred to as little people, people of short stature or having dwarfism, or simply, and most preferably, by their given name. The use of the word midget to refer to a little person causes unnecessary offence and upset to little people and their families Language by its very nature allows us to communicate with one another but no matter what language we speak, awareness to unsuitable and/or offensive words for everyone in our community is important. Little People of Ireland (LPI) along with our international partners strive to raise awareness on the use of words which many little people find offensive.

The word ‘midget’ is considered by Little People of Ireland to be an archaic and derogatory term and is most often used in an offensive manner towards a person of shorter than average height or specifically, a person with a diagnosable skeletal dysplasia. The word ‘midget’ has sometimes been used to refer to little people but is now considered to be an insult by the majority of the members of our community. LPI would like to see the word midget taken out of society’s language, where it is often used carelessly and without regard to who it may affect as many feel that the term degrades and objectifies them.

As an organisation for little people, LPI endeavours to educate people about respectful ways to refer to little people, highlighting that the word ‘midget’ is not appropriate because of its insulting inference. Please help us in our efforts to raise public awareness around the use of unsuitable and/or offensive language.