Midget (from ''

midge A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non-mosquito Nematoceran Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some mid ...

'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

", a medical condition with a number of causes including achondroplasia, there is overlap, particularly in proportionate dwarfism. The word has a history of association with the performance arts as little people were often employed by acts in the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. The term may also refer to anything of much smaller than normal size, as a synonym for "miniature" or "mini", such as midget cell, midget crabapple,

midget flowerpecker The midget flowerpecker (''Dicaeum aeneum'') is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is found in the Solomon Islands archipelago. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove for ...

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

, MG Midget, Daihatsu Midget, and the Midget Mustang airplane; or to anything that regularly uses anything that is smaller than normal (other than a person), such as midget car racing and Quarter Midget racing, quarter midget racing. "Midget" may also reference a smaller version of play or participation, such as midget golf; or to anything designed for very young (i.e., small) participants—in many cases children—such as Disneyland's Midget Autopia, Minor ice hockey#United States, midget hockey, and Midget Football League of Manitoba, midget football. Some sports organizations, like Hockey Canada, have committed to removing the word, recognizing that it might be considered offensive.

History

Merriam-Webster states that the first use of the term "midget" was in 1816.''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' Entry for midget: ''sometimes offensive: a very small person; specifically: a person of unusually small size who is physically well-proportioned. ''
/ref> Midgets have always been popular entertainers but were often regarded with disgust and wikt:revulsion, revulsion in society. In the early 19th century, midgets were romanticized by the middle class and regarded with the same affectionate condescension extended to children, as creatures of innocence. The term "midget" came into prominence in the mid-19th century after Harriet Beecher Stowe used it in her novels ''Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands'' and ''Old Town Folks'' where she described children and an extremely short man, respectively. P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize the term "midget" when he began featuring General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren and Commodore Nutt in his

. "Midget" became linked to referencing short people put on public display for curiosity and sport. Barnum's midgets reached position of High society (group), high society, given fantasy military titles, introduced to dignitaries and royalty, and showered with gifts. Such performances continued to be widespread through the mid part of the twentieth century, with Hermines Midgets brought from their performances in Paris to appear at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the same year that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, MGM released ''The Wizard of Oz (1939 film), The Wizard of Oz'', which featured 124 midgets in its cast, most of whom were from the Singer's Midgets, Singer's Midgets troupe. When interviewed for a 1999 piece, performers engaged in midget wrestling stated that they did not view the term as derogatory but merely descriptive of their small size. Others disagreed, with one stating that the performances themselves perpetuated an outdated and demeaning image. Towards the end of the 20th century, the word became considered by some as a

term when referencing people with dwarfism. Some, such as actor Hervé Villechaize continued to self-identify as "midgets". There have been movements to remove the use of the word "midget" from age classification categories in youth sports, with Hockey Canada announcing that it would refer to the division as "U18" in 2020 as part of a wider renaming scheme.

Notes

References

*{{cite book, last=Adelson, first=Betty M., title=The Lives Of Dwarfs: Their Journey From Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ym5x3mq2p7EC&pg=PA295, access-date=8 December 2012, year=2005, publisher=Rutgers University Press, isbn=9780813535487 Growth disorders Human height Pejorative terms for people with disabilities

History

See also

Notes

References