Petition for pub called "The Midget" to change its name.

wheelieanacademic

February 2

Wording taken from the petition, started by Erin Pritchard.

"The Midget in Abingdon, UK, is part of the Greene King brewery franchise.

Midget is a derogatory word used towards people with dwarfism. It is a term derived from the word 'midge' meaning Gnat or Sand-fly, which is dehumanising. It was a term popularised during the Victorian freak show, but unfortunately continues to be used as a form of hate speech towards people with dwarfism. People with dwarfism, including children with the condition experience name calling on a daily basis. Furthermore, children with dwarfism experience high levels of bullying. As a result, people with dwarfism experience are nearly 3× more likely to experience mental health issues than the general population. Thus, it is important to remove a term that is part of this problem.

Whilst Greene King claims that the pub is named after the MG Midget car, the phasing does not reflect this, especially whilst it omits 'MG'. Furthermore, the origins of the name of that car come from freak show terminology, which is disablist hate speech and flouts the Equality Act (2010).

As a result, Greene King should recognise the offence of the term and its implications. They have opportunities to celebrate the car manufacturing history of the area by using a more appropriate name, such as Riley or Austin-Healey"

Please sign the petition in support of the name change.

Erin has also drafted a letter to be sent to Green King. The more support that is raised on this issue, the more likely they are to act. If you would like a copy of the letter to send to Green King, please email me at s.r.hannam-swain@shu.ac.uk