I’ve been so mad about the chat between Rosie O’Donnell and Chelsea Handler (who?) that I’ve had to take a while to think of a response… it’s still making my blood boil.

Well, how to go about reinforcing stereotypes and prejudices surrounding people with dwarfism in one conversation hey?! … actually watch this and find out…

http://youtu.be/8W9j-ISxrzc

My head literally slumped onto my laptop keyword the day it came through my Facebook stream.  It’s got every ignorance about dwarfism that I am faced with on a daily basis.  The fact that we were objectified by the two women was upsetting, but that they spoke about how an average height person having relationship with a dwarf is somehow akin to child abuse was jaw-droppingly ignorant and does a huge amount of disservice to many average height/dwarf person relationships.   Such comments are downright offensive and upsetting, especially as a person being married to an average height person. Why should we have to justify our relationship to anyone? Let alone being put in this position by these two women? Which is what the repercussions are likely to be when you come across someone as equally ignorant on dwarfism who, because someone with a high profile as Rosie O’Donnell has normalised such views! Get it?  Don’t these two women realise that saying such comments make it that much harder for us people with dwarfism to be accepted in the wider society as the people, not the height, we are?

What makes it even more infuriating is, would this conversation have been aired if it was about a person of a different colour or ethnicity?  No. They’d have been hell on and each woman’s career would flatline.   Disgraceful. Downright disgraceful.

I love this response to such ignorance by Chris Errera.  It’s certainly kinder and more humorous than what I would really like to say, as yes, my blood is still boiling!