The Little People of America advocacy group is still fuming that an event called "Extreme Midget Wrestling" took place last weekend in Arizona. The state had recently issued a proclamation declaring that the term "midget" was antiquated and offensive.
Chandra Streitt, the vice president of Little People's Valley of the Sun chapter, said that not only did she want the name Extreme Midget Wrestling changed for events within Arizona, but also nationally.
"We are definitely waiting to hear back from the wrestling federation," she told The Huffington Post. "We want an answer."
It was never Streitt's intention to have the show cancelled, just to raise awareness. Her organization does not object to dwarfs wrestling packaged as WWE-style entertainment. "I have no problem with the fact that they're wrestling," she explained. "We can do a lot of things that average-size people can do."
Extreme Midget Wrestling took place at the Fort McDowell Casino in Maricopa County on Saturday, after the Little People of America had voiced its objection. (Streitt said she never heard back from the casino.) The event charged $35 for general admission, $45 for ringside and $75 for VIP, selling out, the casino noted on its Facebook page.
According to Extreme Midget Wrestling's website, it books about 120 dates a year around the world, exciting crowds with its "outrageous and unique shows." Streitt says let the outrageousness continue but with a different title. "It's flat-out offensive and needs to be changed," she said.
"Extreme Dwarf Wrestling" would at least be correct, she added. "We're born with dwarfism, not midgetism," she pointed out in the segment above with local station KPHO.
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary writes that "midget" is sometimes used to describe a "person of unusually small size who is physically well-proportioned," but notes also that the term is "sometimes offensive."
A representative for Extreme Midget Wrestling was not immediately available for comment.