Black Friday is soon approaching, and amongst all the mayhem of crowed aisle’s & bustling shop floors, we thought we would make a guide to help inform shoppers the struggles as shopping as a little person.
Imagine the height of a 6-8 year old child, you wouldn’t want to leave them alone whilst shopping incase tinned goods where to fall from above or leave them to carry the shopping bags. Now imagine that those child-size bodies are adults. These are daily struggles for people with dwarfism as they face daily challenges just to get their weekly food shop.
When little people shop they have to rely on strangers kindness to help support them (i.e- picking something from a tall shelf) or assisting carrying their shopping for them. With the recent Covid-19 pandemic, LP where stripped of that assiatnce by having to keep a 2m distance from other social bubbles ; they were them isolated from the help of others and left to fend for themself. Although restrictions have now passed, shoppers are more reserved than ever before, leaving little people abandoned.
With Black Fridays boom, it’s well known that consumers go wild & crazy as soon as the doors open. We’ve all seen videos (especially in America) of people pushing their way through to grab the best bargins. But what about little people? Well they are left at risk of injuring themself. Either the danger of being trampled on by the furocius crowds or items being at an unreachable height can cause many medical issues.
From the You’re Just Little exhibition, you can witness first-hand the view & complications of shopping as a LP. It shows different dwarf perspectives whilst grocery shopping. It is apparent & abhorrent that in 2022, shops & supermarkets are not catering towards EVERYBODY. This debate has become much more widley recognised recently due to a TikTok trend that surfaced showing shopping at a little person’s height. As people begin to be educated on this topic, they learn that people with dwarfism struggle to stand for long periods of time, which can cause them fatigue or pain. Being invisible in the crowds has always put LP at a disadvantage shopping.
However, this Black Friday, please help support LP wherever possible, as they higely rely on other shoppers kindness to help them complete what you may view as usual day-to-day tasks.
