Political correctness about dwarfism can be damaging: Peter Dinklage


PTI | Newyork | Updated: 15-12-2019 14:11 IST | Created: 15-12-2019 13:41 IST
Political correctness about dwarfism can be damaging: Peter Dinklage
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Peter Dinklage says he does not "care" about being politically correct with regard to dwarfism as he believes it can be "damaging". The 50-year-old, who was born with a common form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, said he is not always politically correct.

"I myself am not always the most politically correct person in terms of my dwarfism. I don't care, really. I think that can be damaging as well. "For example, if I see a kid and he’s pointing at me, and the parent has him look the other way, what’s that kid going to grow up into? Somebody who can’t make eye contact with somebody who’s four and a half feet tall? That’s sad, to me," Dinklage told The New Yorker in an interview.

In everyday life, the "Game of Thrones" star, said he understands the fact the parents would not like to embarrass him but stopping children from expressing their curiosity is not the solution. "I understand it in the moment because they don’t want to embarrass me. And, what, are we going to have an educational seminar walking down the street? There’s no time for that.

"But those little things add up in our DNA in terms of how we see people who are physically unique, and that can be destructive," he said. Dinklage said he had had the "front-row seat" as to how the world treats people who are physically different.

He added he does not want to be the actor who changes the world "in terms of how somebody my size is presented". "Because that would be putting me before work. It’s just bad writing to make that the dominant character trait. It’s not my dominant character trait. It has to be part of a complex portrait that informs other pieces of your personality," the actor said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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