Living with dwarfism means dealing with daily staring, cat calls, laughter and all sorts of comments from complete strangers. "Dwarves are still the butt of jokes. It's one of the last bastions of acceptable prejudice," Peter Dinklage, actor from 'Game of Thrones', observed. There are an estimated 651,000 people living with dwarfism in the world today. October is 'Dwarfism Awareness Month', and photographer Stephanie Jarstad decided to work with the Webster family in which three out of four of the members are dwarves. Take a look, and celebrate diversity!
Website: stephaniejarstad
"Growing up in a family where both my parents are little, like me, I felt like I fit in pretty well. And then I met the world, and they didn't have quite the same opinion as me." (Rachel Webster)
"'Look at that midget, mommy!' 'That's a little girl over there.' 'Is she a baby?' 'Why is she so small?' I was perplexed."
"Since then, I have experienced it all. Sexual interrogation. 'Hey, little momma wanna come home with me?' Mocking. Ridiculing. 'It's a midget'. Yeah, it. Dehumanizing."
"I am so lucky to have parents who know exactly what I have been through, because they have experienced it, too. They have seen 1,000 tears."
"Their greatest advice. 'Tomorrow is always a new day.' And always, 'Everything is going to be ok'. Because, it always is."
"We have the best of both worlds. I'm so grateful to have a son and a daughter, one of each stature. We love them both unconditionally." (Chris Webster)
"I wait for the day when we can just pass each other on the street and it's just understood that we are all a little bit different."
"In a world populated by diversity, we could all use a lot more understanding."
"Being different is what makes us all beautiful and we should praise God for creating us each individually." (Nancy Webster)
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