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 m ...

'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually

short stature Short stature refers to a height of a human which is below typical. Whether a person is considered short depends on the context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called ' ...

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 Medical terminology is a language used to precisely describe the human body including all its components, processes, conditions affecting it, and procedures performed upon it. Medical terminology is used in the field of medicine Medical terminolo ...

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 Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ha ...

, there is overlap, particularly in proportionate dwarfism. The word has a history of association with the

performance arts Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

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 uni ...

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 or ...

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 compositio ...

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

midget cell A midget cell is one type of retinal ganglion cell (RGC). Midget cells originate in the ganglion cell layer of the retina, and project to the parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The axons of midget cells travel through t ...

, midget crabapple, midget flowerpecker,

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 The MG Midget is a small two-seater sports car produced by MG from 1961 to 1979. It revived a name that had been used on earlier models such as the MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and MG T-type. MG Midget MkI (1961–64) The first version ...

Daihatsu Midget The Daihatsu Midget is a single-seater mini-truck, later a microvan/kei truck made by Japanese automaker Daihatsu. Several distinct vehicles have borne the Midget name over the years, but all have had in common a single or two-seat utilitarian ...

, 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 Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mo ...

and

quarter midget racing Quarter midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one-quarter (1/4) the size of a full-size midget car. The adult-size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing used an oval track of one-fifth of a ...

. "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 Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

's Midget Autopia, midget hockey, and midget football. Some sports organizations, like

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

, have committed to removing the word, recognizing that it might be considered offensive.

History

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

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 Disgust (Middle French: ''desgouster'', from Latin ''gustus'', "taste") is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful, or unpleasant. In ''The Expression o ...

and

revulsion Disgust (Middle French: ''desgouster'', from Latin ''gustus'', "taste") is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful, or unpleasant. In ''The Expression o ...

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 Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the ha ...

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 Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He wa ...

indirectly helped popularize the term "midget" when he began featuring

General Tom Thumb Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American dwarf who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum. Childhood and early life B ...

Lavinia Warren Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton ( Bump; October 31, 1841https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/warren-lavinia-1841-1919 – November 25, 1919) was an American proportionate dwarf, who was a circus perform ...

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, 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 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...

, the same year that

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

released ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

'', which featured 124 midgets in its cast, most of whom were from the Singer's Midgets troupe. When interviewed for a 1999 piece, performers engaged in

midget wrestling Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving people of exceptionally short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holde ...

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

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