Dwarfism, Spatiality and Disabling Experiences

Pritchard, Erin (2020) Dwarfism, Spatiality and Disabling Experiences. Interdisciplinary Disability Studies . Routledge, Abingdon.

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Abstract

Dwarfism is an impairment that results in a person being no taller than 4ft 10. This book provides an in-depth experience of the lives of people, emphasizing the ways they encounter barriers in the environment, and discussing the issue of disability and dwarfism. One of the themes of the book is that harmful cultural representations of dwarfism directly affect people’s lives, such as the belief that dwarfism is an oddity. Such stereotypes directly affect (and harm) the lives of people with dwarfism: they tend to avoid certain areas and situations because of harassment and mockery.

Twenty-two people from the UK discuss their experiences and highlight the ways public spaces are disabling for people with dwarfism. Social barriers affect how they negotiate spaces. It is argued that due to the social barriers people with dwarfism receive, their experiences of spaces differ from other people, often resulting in them avoiding certain spaces. To counteract these experiences, people with dwarfism have engaged in both resistance and avoidance. In doing so, they have highlighted the suitability of alternative and accessible spaces and they have also identified the ways in which harmful cultural representations of dwarfism can be challenged.

The book contributes to Social Geography and Disability Studies, showing how a bodily difference which is predominantly about height is disabled by a ‘one size fits all society’.

Item Type:	Book
Keywords:	Dwarfism, Access, Cultural Representations, Social Attitudes, Built Environment
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Erin Pritchard
Date Deposited:	08 Dec 2020 13:36
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2020 13:38
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3208

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