Let the web do the talking

Actress Kiruna Stamell got so fed up with inappropriate questions from journalists and their innocent use of offensive terms that she now tells them to prepare for interviews by visiting her blog

Being an actress is a passive business. You wait for a writer to come up with an idea, a producer to produce it, a commissioner to commission it, a casting director to decide to put you in it, a director to film it and an editor who won’t cut you out of it.

It’s this process, over which one has very little control, that can send an actress into steep decline.

Waiting for others to decide that your voice is worth broadcasting and giving it a forum is a very frustrating process.

But when you have dwarfism and your body is laden with centuries of social stigma and meaning which you’re trying to challenge and subvert, having an outlet for your opinion and voice is very helpful.

That is how my website kirunastamell.net was born: from a need to re-contextualise my body and how it is defined. On the internet I’ve been able to take back some of the control: not only can I blog for self-promotional and work purposes but I also connect to my audience and let them hear me speak for myself.

I can communicate a deeper understanding about my work practice and general outlook on life and the world, without it being filtered or skewed by the mainstream press, whose fascination with “dwarves” has yet to see me read an non-sensationalised article about us.

On more than one occasion I have referred journalists to my blog prior to interviewing me, so they have a better understanding of my disability politics.

I’ve also turned down a role and suggested that my potential employer read my blog to understand why I thought it inappropriate. It’s been helpful for explain­ing to the press and public why I dislike the term “midget” and find it offensive, without having to repeat myself a thousand times.

By linking it to all my social networking sites, fans, friends and family help me spread the word about shows, reviews or issues and campaigns I am involved in. It is also useful for targeting groups or individuals who might be interested but otherwise would never have known I existed, as tags, pingbacks, tweets and posts have led to many new individual connections and grown my readership and audience following substantially.

I became an actress out of a desperate need to communicate with people. I guess I was thinking that if I could redefine the given circumstances of my body (my canvas) by acting in millions of different stories I could change people’s prejudices and show the versatility of my flesh and bones, often crudely judged by society to be limited and of lesser value than other people’s bodies.

Now I have a blog, it is like an annex to my career and serves me with an outlet for my desire for greater understanding and communication.

• To keep up with Kiruna’s career and blog visit kirunastamell.net