Dwarf wrestlers angry at charity after protests see UK bouts cancelled
Performers from a dwarf wrestling group have been left furious after their planned UK tour was cancelled.
At least two shows planned by Extreme Dwarfanator Wrestling, a Texas-based group, were cancelled after protests from the Restricted Growth Association, a British charity. “We remain resolute in our belief that
such events are primarily about encouraging audiences to laugh at people with dwarfism and the spectacle of violence against dwarf bodies as entertainment for average height people,” said Gill Martin, the chair of the charity.
The RGA said in a statement that the spectacle of “midget tossing” could also inspire violence against people with dwarfism. ”We know of people in our community whom strangers have threatened to throw while they are going about their daily lives,” the charity said. “We believe such shows make the risk of abuse and violence towards our community more likely.”
The RGA also criticised the group’s use of the term “midget” as ”widely regarded as a highly offensive slur” and had ”strong historical associations with the freak shows of days gone by at which people with dwarfism were paraded and ridiculed”.
Performers with the group have protested the move, saying that they will lose two weeks money if the shows are cancelled, according to The Daily Telegraph. The performers appealed for support in a post on their Facebook page. ”We urge councils and people, do not discriminate against people born with dwarfism,” they wrote, adding that the events promoted “equal rights”.
A British politician who has dwarfism has also backed the performers. ”If they want to wrestle then let them crack on. If you don’t agree with it don’t go,” James Lusted, a county councillor in Rhos-on-Sea, north Wales, told BBC Radio Wales. “These professional entertainers, they’re well trained and fit but they’re actually going to lose finances now. I feel sorry for them.”