A Guelph TikTok creator is using her platform to raise awareness about dwarfism and challenge stereotypes.
"I think that sometimes as much as you see little people on TV, not too many people know too much about it," says Isabella Lamanna, a first-year student at University of Guelph.
"There's a lot of misconceptions, I'm trying to dispel those and make everyone see we're just your average person, just smaller."
Lamanna, who was born with a form of dwarfism called diastrophic dysplasia, has amassed nearly a million followers on the popular social media platform.
On Friday her feed featured a mix of dance videos and "whatever's trending," along with educational clips about dwarfism. But it didn't start out that way.
@bella.lamanna Reply to @gnoire there are so so so many types of dwarfism and they’re all so unique ☺️ ##fyp ##foryou ##dwarfism ##littleperson
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod
When Lamanna first began uploading content during the early days of the pandemic she was just doing it "just for fun, like all my friends did in quarantine," she explains.
"But I think as soon as I got a few thousand (followers) I was like 'okay this might be a good learning opportunity for people,'" she recalls.
Viewers were already asking Lamanna questions in the comment section, which she would answer. Soon she started creating videos in response to common queries as well.
In one popular upload to her YouTube channel she demonstrates how she drives.
“I made that one because many people ask me about that, so I wanted to show them the pedal extenders and the seat I use,” she says in a media release from the University of Guelph. “l make these videos not just to educate the public but to inspire younger little people, too.”
Since starting university, Lamanna explained she hasn't been posting on TikTok as frequently although she plans to continue her advocacy work on social media.
"I think it's important if you have a big enough platform to take advantage of that," she explains.
She also volunteers with the Little People of Ontario, a non-profit organization that supports people with dwarfism and their families.
On Monday to mark National Dwarfism Awareness Day on Oct. 25, Lamanna is encouraging others to wear green to show support and underline the barriers and discrimination often faced by people with dwarfism.
She and other students also plan to paint the cannon on the University of Guelph campus green.
