A 6-foot, 2-inch Californian man is the only tall person in his family of “little people” with dwarfism. He says strangers accuse him of lying about his parents.
Growing up, Peet Montzingo, 25, from Los Angeles, was too big to sit on his mother’s lap and hardly noticed the size difference between him and his family until he started school. He grew up in an adapted home with low kitchen counters that would give him backache and door frames he would hit his head on repeatedly.
His mom, who is 4 feet tall, would bring him to the food shop with her so he could reach the items on the top shelves when she couldn’t. If he ever invited a friend over to his home, he'd have to warn them in advance—and if he forgot, their jaws would “hit the floor.”
Sometimes, Mr. Montzingo would experience verbal abuse about his family, and his classmates would make fun of them. He said strangers accuse him of lying about being genetically related to his parents, siblings, and cousins, who are all dwarfs.
Mr. Montzingo, an author and musician, now uses his unique platform to educate people and challenge misconceptions about dwarfism.
He said: “Growing up, I was so used to people just assuming I’m not a part of my family.
“We'd all be out at the store, and strangers would strike up a conversation, but never look at me.
“If we met them randomly another time, I‘d usually have to keep re-introducing myself because they’d never remember me.
“I actually find it hilarious now to be convincing people—online especially—that I’m part of my own family!”
Mr. Montzingo is the youngest of three siblings and is the only average-height person in his immediate family.
“Before I started school, I‘d never think about the height difference,” he said. “It wasn’t until I saw all the kids and their parents that it clicked for me. I realized I was in a strange world. I would come home and cry to my mum and say, ’I wish I was a dwarf too.'”
Mr. Montzingo soon realized that the home he grew up in also looked very different from the homes of his average-height peers. He said it took him a “long time emotionally to figure out” his role and “feel comfortable and confident” in his own family.
“My brother is older than me, he always wanted to be the big brother, but he was always way shorter than me,” Mr. Montzingo said. “He could never bully me or boss me around! Growing up, the top shelves were mine because I could reach them. I'd hide candy up there, it was amazing. At my mum’s house, I still have some of those spots now.”
He added that at theme parks, staff could never tell him he was too small to ride without his parent.
“Once, when I got to the front of the line, the worker told me I was too short but could get a parent to come with me, and then I could ride,” he said. “I informed him that my parents were shorter than me, and he laughed at me!
“So I went and got my mom and dad, and when the worker saw them, his face was pure shock—and we all got to ride anyway.”
Because Mr. Montzingo looks so different, he still has a tough time convincing strangers that he’s a part of his family. He says whenever people meet them all together, they assume he’s an outsider.
He said: “Good thing I look so much like my mum, otherwise it would be harder than it already is to tell people I’m related. So many people are so uneducated about dwarfism, and we’re always happy to share some insight. It’s just comical how many times educating somebody turns into them trying to disprove it!”
Mr. Montzingo added that because he had such a different experience growing up, he’s able to understand the reality of dwarfism that most average-height people cannot. “It’s created some very deep empathy for everyone who looks different,” he said.
“At school, people would bully me and call my family names, but that was the only bullying I got—my brother got physically bullied,” he added. “Now, I want to be an advocate for dwarfism and show they are just like everyone else.
“I’m always pushing for people to understand that. People say, ‘Oh, they’re so cute’—but they’re people, not little toys. Some people might look at a little person and see them as a stereotype, not a human being.
“Because of my family, I can look at them and see them as a human being like everyone else—[dwarfism] doesn’t define them.”
