L5: Unauthorized Picture-Taking of People with Dwarfism – Exam Notes

Key Concepts

  • Unauthorized picture-taking of people with dwarfism is a new, tech-enabled manifestation of disablism.
  • Acts as an extension of staring: fixes the gaze permanently via images.
  • Roots lie in long-standing cultural construction of the “dwarf” body as entertainment, novelty, or freak.

Historical & Cultural Context

  • Dwarfism historically framed as non-human, mythical, or comic; roles ranged from royal “pets” to freak-show attractions.
  • Height criterion: 4'10'' or less, with 200+ genetic variants producing short stature.
  • Popular media (e.g., Snow White, Wizard of Oz) reinforces other-worldly or comic stereotypes.

The Gaze & Staring

  • Staring = interpersonal expression of structural power that labels bodies “abnormal.”
  • Disabled gaze parallels patriarchal and racialized gazes: visually defines, categorizes, and devalues.
  • For participants, picture-taking sits at the extreme end of a stare spectrum (quick glance → prolonged stare → covert photo).

Photography as Tool of Oppression

  • Victorian freak shows & eugenics used photos to catalog “deficiency.”
  • Images of dwarfs beside “giants” exaggerated difference; photos sold as curios.
  • Photography enabled public to consume “othered” bodies without direct contact—foundation for today’s viral memes.

Cell-Phone Cameras & the Modern Panopticon

  • Ubiquity of camera phones (post-2000) disperses surveillance power to “the many.”
  • Saulles & Horner’s “portable panopticon”: anyone can record deviations from visual norm.
  • Pictures spread instantly via social media, making the gaze boundless in time and space.
  • Technology can also expose abuses, but here it mainly reinforces disablism.

Participant Insights (Studies 2013 & 2015/16)

  • Sample: 26 interviews + 1 focus group (7 people) from mainly UK/USA.
  • Over half personally experienced covert photos; describe feelings of violation, anger, fear.
  • Common situations: streets, trains, bars; frequency increases when two dwarfs appear together.
  • Photographs often end up online as mocking memes; heightens anxiety about public outings.
  • Some encounters overtly hostile (slurs, sexual harassment), intensifying harm.

Theoretical Frameworks Applied

  • Social Model of Disability: discrimination arises from external social forces, not bodily difference.
  • Gaze theory (gender, race, disability) explains visual power relations.
  • Foucault’s panopticon elucidates self-regulation under anticipated surveillance.

Methodological Notes

  • Insider researcher with dwarfism enhanced access & rapport.
  • Data coded interpretively to retain participant voice while identifying themes.

Impacts & Implications

  • Picture-taking compounds everyday stigma (staring, infantilization, harassment).
  • Reinforces perception of dwarf bodies as public property.
  • Necessitates awareness campaigns, policy on image consent, and challenges to media stereotypes.
  • Highlights broader issue: tech innovations can amplify existing inequalities unless cultural attitudes change.