!! Invader Zim !! Made this blog on a whim so I can spam post invader ZIM whenever I feel like it sooo yeh Also I’m an adult even though my ramshackle theme might give different vibes lol Buuut yehhh yes I do ship ZADR for some reason I tend to tag posts I wanna tag so there’s a lot untagged soooo this blog is basically a minefield xDD scroll at your own risk lel I live everyday like it’s the early 2010s Here is some Tacooozz :P 🌮 🌮 🌮 🌮 🌮 🌮 Btw I don’t do shipping drama cause I don’t care lol
I've honestly wanted to make a post about this for a while, however, I am a very anxious person and I struggle with social anxiety. So sharing how I truly feel can be difficult, especially also because I unfortunately have people-pleaser tendencies. However, in this case I feel it's important to share how I feel, given it's in relation to a serious topic, ableism. Given I have decent side platform on here.
Today I am going to talk about my issues with height difference ZaDr. Specifically the type where the height difference is quite large and that within these specific fan-works, Zim is essentially a person with dwarfism.
Now, before anyone comes at me with their pitchforks and try accusing me of being ableist against people with dwarfism and starts claiming I'm an ableist piece of shit, and tries to misconstrue what I'm saying; because this is the piss poor reading comprehension website: allow me to explain why a lot of people that portray Zim, in their interpretation/in their ZaDr fan-works basically having dwarfism; actually tend to enforce harmful, ableist stereotypes surrounding dwarfism and how I find it hypocritical how they accuse folks who draw their adult Zim as tall, of being ableist for doing so while constantly spreading ableist stereotypes themselves.
Now, before I get into this: I do not have dwarfism myself, but I do know a little about it as a disability because I have done a some research on it in the past because I'd rather be educated than ignorant. If anyone that has any form of dwarfism is reading this and notices I got something wrong, please correct me. Like I said, I do not have dwarfism myself and I am also able-bodied.
Also, I did not make this post to attack others, I also do not to see anyone harassing others because of this post/harassing others in my name. I simply made this post to educate others about ableist stereotypes.
Now, back to what I previously said, how do people who portray Zim like this actually portray him, in their interpretation, basically being an adult man that has dwarfism in a ableist manner?
Well, firstly, they actually tend to enforce ableist stereotypes surrounding people with dwarfism. Now, you may be asking yourself, "Kitty, what kind of stereotypes?" Well, there is two I often see enforced: the stereotypes of "Adults with dwarfism are basically children" and "Adults with dwarfism are angry gremlin people", I don't like using these terms most of the time, because I find people tend to use them incorrectly or carelessly, but I feel in this situation I can: along with infantilizing him due to his disability despite the fact that he is a grown man in these fanworks. Or straight up fetishizing him due to his height, making it all about how tiny and small he is.
Now, what I mean by how people enforce the "Adults with dwarfism are basically children" stereotype onto Zim in these fanworks? What I mean by this, is they often portray him like he is a child, not a grown man that basically has dwarfism. They do not portray him and Dib as equals to each other, they often portray Zim as "Annoying angry gremlin" and Dib an annoyed person or that does not respect his boundaries (I.E: picking him without consent, treating him as lesser). Among other things. They do not portray them in a way where you would know "oh, this is just two adult guys and one of them just happens to be a little person." No, by the way people portray them, you would think that Zim is just some annoying random kid and not also a grown person like Dib.
I'm not saying adults can't be immature, hell I would know. My mother is quite literally a emotionally immature adult. But I find it definitely odd how they always make him act like this while also being an adult man that basically has dwarfism in their fanworks. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Another thing is that they don't draw him like he's a person with dwarfism, they simply make him look like a child, and also yes: There is a difference between the way a adult with dwarfism looks and the way a child looks. There is also many different types of dwarfism as well.
The stereotype of people with dwarfism, being angry gremlins is a harmful stereotype. Is Zim an irritable person and could that trait continue into adulthood? Yes! However, making your character who, in your fan-work is essentially a person with dwarfism the fact their an angry gremlin their whole personality is just… gross and borderline dehumanizing. Are there adults with dwarfism that have anger issues? Yes, absolutely! Because people with dwarfism are not a monolith. Just like any other group. But like I said, making your character who essentially has dwarfism, the fact their an angry person their entire personality when that is a ableist stereotype is harmful.
Now, onto the fetishization and infantilization. Often times, they make it all about Zim's height. How small and tiny he is. They always talk about how much more taller and grown Dib is. For example, on two separate occasions I have seen people draw Dib carrying Zim around in a baby carrier. That is straight up infantalization. Because they're actually treating him like he is a child despite the he is supposed a grown man in their fan-works.
That is nasty. These people could have drawn Zim using some kind of mobility aid that people with dwarfism actually use (I.E: a wheelchair). But no, they went that route. The ableist one. The way people often portray this headcanon (EMPHASIS ON HEADCANON BY THE WAY. I will get into why that's not canon in a moment). within fan-works often reads as "fetish material poorly-disguised as disability representation" than "representation of a under-represented group of people." I would not be as upset if these people were honest that it was fetish content / a height fetish , but like I said: they don't, they poorly disguise it as something else.
One more thing: I don't like how people who have this headcanon often use it as a tool of harassment towards others who don't personally share the headcanon. Which, other than the ableist stereotypes, is another reason I am not personally fond of this headcanon. I've seen people who draw their adult Zim tall, or around the same height as Dib get harassed and attacked for doing so, and receive accusations of being ableist when they usually aren't doing it for ableist reasons.
My friend Oli made this point first, so full credit to them! : People often cite Dib's Wonderful Life of Life of Doom as "proof" that Zim, as an adult would basically be a person with dwarfism. However, people fail to remember or even ignore that Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom was not actually Dib in the future. Rather, it was a simulation of what he thought his future would be like / what he thought he would be like in adulthood. Therefore, it is not the most credible source.
In conclusion, while I do not think the headcanon of Zim as an adult basically being a little person/a person with dwarfism is an inherently bad or ableist headcanon and I do think if the right person is doing it, it can be done in a respectful manner. However the way the vast majority of the ZaDr fandom often portrays it is ableist. Am i saying that everyone who has this specific interpretation portrays it in a manner that is ableist? No! However, do I still see ableist depictions of it more often then not? Yes.
If anyone who has this specific headcanon is reading this and realizes that they portray it is ableist, please do not beat yourself up. Sometimes people make mistakes and as long as you recognize, learn from and apologize for your past mistakes.
Anyways, thank you for reading if you have read this entire essay if you did. I just wrote this to educate others because it had been bothering me for a while and I needed to get it off my chest.
prguitarman
dededos
dailybridgerton
kianamaiart
2087
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
