Guess what, friends? When people with dwarfismtell you that stories about dwarves (the fantasy variety) are harmful, your job is to listen and validate. Not to argue.

In Record Time, Disney Is Going In A Different Direction With “Snow White” After Peter Dinklage Called Them Out

I wish I was surprised to see all the Book Girls and Fantasy Bros jumping in to defend dead authors… J. R. R. Tolkien doesn’t need you to defend him. Terry Pratchett wouldn’t even wantyou to defend him.

Authors are just people, and people aren’t perfect.

Dwarves don’t exist in some kind of literary vacuum.

If this statement bothers you*:

“When I say ‘gypsy,’ I mean the magical, fantasy kind. You know like fortunetellers who live in wagons. Magical powers, not real people. 'Gypsy’ in literature is just like a trope at this point. Not real Romani people. That’s not what anybody means when they write about that.”

(*Actual Ask in my inbox.)

Then these statements should bother you**:

“Not that I give a fuck, but the Dwarfs in Snow White aren’t humans with Dwarfism. They’re mythical glorified coal miners.”

“Dwarves in Tolkien are a fantasy race based on Norse mythology and not the same as a human with medical dwarfism. But you already knew that. You’re just being a snotty little contrarian for the lulz.”

“Aren’t the dwarves in Snow White mythical creatures?”

(**Actual Tweets I just saw.)

The oppressors don’t get to decide what oppression looks like. Oh, maybe I should repeat that a bit louder…

The oppressors don’t get to decide what oppression looks like!

Peter Dinklage knows more about anti-dwarf bigotry than I do. Probably more than you do, unless you are also a little person. So we can just take his word on this one, okay?

XOXO, Earnest