limb difference

まずは記事の引用をお読みください。


Anne Hathaway is apologizing for the "pain caused" to the limb difference community after "The Witches" received "disappointed" backlash for its depiction of disabilities.

Hathaway's Grand High Witch, the main character in Robert Zemeckis' new adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Witches" (streaming on HBO Max), has three-fingered hands that resemble the congenital disorder ectrodactyly.

"I am sorry," Hathaway wrote on Instagram Thursday, a day after Warner Bros. issued an apology for the depiction. "I did not connect limb difference with the (Grand High Witch) when the look of the character was brought to me; if I had, I assure you this never would have happened."
(Rasha Ali. 'I promise I'll do better': Anne Hathaway apologizes for depiction of disabilities in 'The Witches.' USA Today.  November 5, 2020.)

記事中に出てくる、"limb difference"というのが何の事か分からなかったのです。

"difference"に何か特別な意味合いがあったかなぁと、まずは辞書を引いてみましたがそれらしい定義がなく、コンテクストから何となく想像はつくのですが、分からずにいました。

それで"limb difference"をネットで検索すると、これは腕や手、足など、四肢の発達障害等を指す用語だと分かった次第です。

What is a limb difference? Simply put, it’s when someone’s limb is different than most people’s. This can be because of a developmental issue in the womb, or acquired as a result of an accident or disease.

(Amputee Coalitionのサイトから引用)

話題の新作映画に登場する魔女は手の指が3本しかないキャラクターなのだそうですが、映画中の描写が、四肢障がいのある人達を貶めるような過剰演出であると批判されているものです。

魔女役の女優が謝罪コメントを発表しています。

"As someone who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused," she captioned an informational video from Lucky Fin Project, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of limb differences.
(ibid.)

自ら好んで四肢障がいになる人はいません。

パラリンピックスイマーの女性も映画中の描写には落胆させられた、とコメントしました。

Amy Marren, a 22-year-old British Paralympic swimmer, called out the film in a tweet Monday, saying she was "disappointed" in the movie's portrayal.

"Yes, I am fully aware that this is a film, and these are Witches. But Witches are essentially monsters. My fear is that children will watch this film, unaware that it massively exaggerates the Roald Dahl original and that limbs differences begin to be feared," she wrote. "This opens up all new difficult conversations for those with limb differences and sets back what we are trying to achieve which is to celebrate who you are!"
(ibid.)

記事中には、"ectrodactyly"という専門用語も出てきます。

ectro-は、先天的に欠如した、という意味の接頭辞で、dactylo-という部分はギリシャ語で手や足の指を意味します。即ち、先天性手指欠損（症）という意味です。

“limb difference”については、先に引用したサイトの説明によれば、先天性のものに限らず、事故などを原因とする後天的なものも含まれるということです。