Dwarf boxing bar slammed as ‘insulting’ by campaigners
Georgia Diebelius for Metro.co.uk
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A controversial bar where tourists pay to climb into a ring and referee a boxing match between dwarfs has come under fire from campaigners.
Travellers pay tips or buy drinks for the boxing dwarfs in the Philippines in return for the chance to referee the match.
The Ringside Bar on the Burges Strip in Manila employs around a dozen dwarfs who stage fights from 8pm until 4am every night.
It has become hugely popular with visitors and expats in the region, however campaigners this week slammed the venue as ‘insulting to dwarfs’.
Maria Glorian Tomen from the Little People Association of the Philippines said the bar was offensive ‘for calling the workers midgets’.
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She said: ‘Aside from fighting for our rights and welfare and the equal opportunity, part of it is to abolish the use of the M Word.’
Workers at the bar receive around 250 Philippine Piso (£3.50) a night for the work, although it can vary according to how much they receive in tips.
The bar also stages what they call ‘midget dancing’ and ‘lady boxing’.
Perry Berry Senior President of the Little People Association of the Philippines, said that although he was against the bar, he admitted that it provides dwarfs with employment opportunities which would otherwise be hard to find.
He said: ‘As an organisation, we do not approve of such establishments. These places employ people like us to do comedy for them, but during the skit, our people get hurt physically.
‘However, we cannot do anything about it because it gives them jobs.’
