(2006-08-25) — Just days after an international astronomy organization re-classified Pluto as a ‘dwarf planet‘, an association of dwarf astronomers today called on the scientific community to use the term “little planet” instead.
Dwarfism is a medical condition, but most of those who have it prefer to be called ‘little people‘ rather than dwarfs.
“The classification of Pluto as a dwarf planet perpetuates stereotypes and reinforces the historical insensitivity of over-sized astronomers,” said an unnamed source, who noted the popularity of terms like white dwarf, red dwarf, brown dwarf and black dwarf, which refer to kinds of stars.
In related news, a group of black astronomers this week petitioned the International Astronomical Union to change a term which describes the substance thought to make up most of the universe from ‘dark matter‘ to ‘black matter.’
“It’s archaic and somewhat offensive to say ‘dark matter’,” according to an unnamed group spokesman, who added that the term ‘African matter’ was also considered, but rejected as “too Earth-centric and provincial.”
3 responses so far ↓
1 CaNN :: We started it. // Aug 28, 2006 at 8:27 pm
[…] SCRAPPLEFACE- Little People Protest Classifying Pluto as ‘Dwarf Planet’ …. (scrappleface) […]
2 Cartoonists decide fate of Disney’s Pluto « Political Cowboy // Aug 29, 2006 at 1:45 am
[…] This news comes not long after the former 9th planet Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf planet.” This decision left many wondering if a raincoat is still a coat, and a cell phone is still a phone, why isn’t a dwarf planet still a planet? Astronomers put on a front of support for the popular Disney dog, but apparently cartoonists had other feelings. […]
3 BoonKill » Blog Archive » Who You Calling A Dwarf? // Sep 3, 2006 at 7:08 pm
[…] has being politically correct gone too far? i found this article online and thought you would get a kick out of it. (2006-08-25) — Just days after an international astronomy organization re-classified Pluto as a ‘dwarf planet‘, an association of dwarf astronomers today called on the scientific community to use the term “little planet” instead. […]
You must log in to post a comment.