Discrimination: Say goodbye to M&S’s Midget Gems

Discrimination: Say goodbye to M&S’s Midget Gems. One disability campaigner has said that the term midget is “a form of hate speech.”
Dr Erin Pritchard has tackled supermarkets head-on over the term midget. The lecturer in disability and education criticised supermarkets for using the word in their products.
Marks & Spencer have rebranded their sweets which will now appear on their shelves with the name “Mini Gems.”
Dr Pritchard commented: “The word midget is a form of hate speech and contributes to the prejudice that people with dwarfism experience on a daily basis.
“Having spoken with various firms about the use of the word midget, it’s clear that many companies are simply unaware of just how offensive the term is, and I’ve had to explain to them why it’s such an issue.”
She added: “when people scream the name at you in the street, it is only right that it is removed.
“The change should have happened years ago. It is easy for people not called the word to think its removal is wrong.”
Tesco will be reviewing its product branding but Marks & Spencer have already acted. A spokesperson for M&S commented: “’We are committed to being an inclusive retailer – from how we support our colleagues, through to the products we offer and the way we market them to our 32 million customers.
“Following suggestions from our colleagues and the insights shared by Dr Erin Pritchard, we introduced new mini gem packaging last year, which has since been rolled out to all of our stores.”
Tesco meanwhile explained that it: “would not want any of our products to cause offence.” A Tesco spokesperson added: “We are grateful to Dr Pritchard for bringing this to our attention and we will be reviewing the name of this product.”

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