Short

The novel presents body positivity and body negativity as social attitudes, showing how cultural environment influences a person’s ideas about beauty and ability. At the start of the novel, Julia explains that she doesn’t use the word “short” because of her parents’ attitudes toward her height. Julia’s mother and father see her height as a negative trait—an indication that something may be wrong with Julia. Julia’s change in perspective about her height comes as a direct result of key role models she meets through the play: Olive, Shawn Barr, and Mrs. Chang.

When Julia first meets Olive, she thinks that Olive is another child auditioning for the Munchkin cast. Julia quickly realizes not only that Olive, Quincy, and Larry are little people but also that their stature benefits them in this context: She concludes that Olive and the others “have the right look” (24) to be Munchkins and that she and the other children have been brought in to fill in the gaps. Shawn Barr, the director, is also a shorter man. When Julia sees four short people in desirable positions—three because of their height—she begins to take pride in her height instead of resenting it.

Julia builds on her new perspective about her height through Shawn Barr’s movement exercises, in which he frames movement as a form of self-expression: “We are small people but we will not move small” (44). These exercises help Julia think about bodies through the lens of what they can do rather than what they can’t, and she starts applying this lens to both herself and the people around her. By centering how people communicate who they are via their bodies, Shawn Barr models a body-positive perspective for Julia.

The novel’s exploration of body positivity is not confined to its depiction of height, and Julia also learns to think about embodiment in ways that are less directly relevant to her personally. The novel juxtaposes Julia’s initial attitude toward Shawn Barr with her first impression of Mrs. Chang to demonstrate how intersectional identities affect body positivity. Julia meets Shawn Barr at auditions, and there is immediate buzz about his skills as a director; the reader learns that he is older and short, but those qualities aren’t associated with any judgments about his ability (in fact, his height endears him to Julia). In contrast, Julia’s first impression of Mrs. Chang is that “she doesn’t look like she could sing or dance” because she is older and has a reputation for being private (72). Julia doesn’t even trust Mrs. Chang’s sewing skills, and once those skills are proven, Julia still believes Mrs. Chang’s age prevents her from being a flying monkey. Both Shawn Barr and Mrs. Chang are older theater professionals, but Mrs. Chang, a Chinese American woman, is perceived differently than Shawn Barr and made to prove herself. Only when Olive, a little woman of color, explicitly calls Shawn Barr’s attitude toward Mrs. Chang discrimination does Shawn Barr change his mind and allow her to audition. At this moment, Julia notices Olive’s skin color and understands it as another aspect of her embodiment that influences her experiences, rendering her vulnerable to a kind of judgment distinct from ableism alone.

Julia’s developing concept of body positivity is challenged when she learns from the doctor that she may grow to be five foot four inches, which she calls an average height. Through her time in Munchkin land, Julia “had stopped worrying about growing” (244), but her reaction to the news about her height shows that she is now worried in the opposite direction—she’s concerned about being too tall, worried that she may lose something she has come to see as integral to her identity. Nevertheless, the novel suggests that Julia will learn to accept her height, regardless of what it is, with the final line: “I grew this summer. Not on the outside, but on the inside. And that’s the only place where growing really matters” (296).