# How/why did "midget" get a negative connotation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429 "2004-03-15T14:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/1 "2004-03-15T14:56:25Z")
I’m watching a special on HBO about little people, and at least one (maybe several) mentioned that they don’t want to be called “midgets”. Also, the Merriam-Webster definition says “sometimes offensive.” I’m always fascinated by how words can be fine to use, maybe even preferred, then somehow they become offensive or even a slur. Is there an expanation how “midget” became offensive? ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/2 "2004-03-15T15:13:17Z")
An even better question is: why isn’t “little people” considered offensive? (Every time I hear the term I think of [leprechauns and Sean Connery](http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product.asp?master_movie_id=491&movie_nss=19590160) .) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/3 "2004-03-16T04:16:34Z")
Good point, “little” sounds more like a slur than “midget” does. ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/4 "2004-03-16T04:37:04Z")
[http://www.dwarfism.org/](http://www.dwarfism.org/) As far as I understand it, people who used to be born underdeveloped and that were called midgets, are now able to get treated medically, when young, so that they can grow to a more “normal” stature. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/5 "2004-03-16T04:47:23Z")
As I understand it the term ‘little people’ is preferred by many because they believe it is important to remind everyone that they are human (despite how they are sometimes treated) and that their height does not define who they are: > [@](#): > > We are first and foremost human beings, it is secondary that we are human beings who are of restricted growth and > [@](#): > > If people, both average and short stature, were able to place their humanity before everything else, the world might be a much better place. The more we stick labels on each other, the more we segregate ourselves, and the more we encourage ignorance and prejudice. from [here](http://www.dwarfism.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-why-did-midget-get-a-negative-connotation/234429/6 "2004-03-16T04:51:15Z")
After writing that last post it also occurred to me that there is an untrue assumption in the OP, namely that the word midget has BECOME offensive. Given the poor treatment of little people throughout the ages, I suspect the word has never had a positive association and that it has never actually been used as a term of affection