Posted on 01/31/2004 1:42:10 PM PST by tcuoohjohn
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Critics may roll their eyes at Fox television's upcoming dwarf-dating contest "The Littlest Groom," but the head of the advocacy group Little People of America says the show could end up giving his members a boost.
While some audiences may snicker at the spectacle of a dozen dwarf women competing with average-sized females for the affections of a 4-foot-5-inch bachelor, LPA president Matt Roloff said the Fox show may benefit people of short stature by depicting them as regular folks "just being themselves."
In other words, a person's size doesn't matter.
"Yes, the radio jocks will have a field day," Roloff told Reuters in a telephone interview. "(But) hiding us behind closed doors or in funny costumes will never give us the exposure needed to desensitize society to us."
Fox said this week that it would air the show, essentially a dwarf version of ABC's "The Bachelor," as a two-part special next month on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.
The announcement sparked a flurry of angry letters to the LPA from little people and their parents and a debate within the Portland, Oregon-based organization over its response to the show, Roloff said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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