Indeed, the very term “Munchkin” has been controversial. It was popularized by early explorers who corrupted the Quadling term muenchner kindl or “blue children.” Many Munchkins, especially during the political awakening of the 1960s and 1970s, began insisting on the term Lollipoppian instead. A rough English approximation of the term Munchkins use for themselves, Lollipoppian comes from the term loli poppu aru, or “gentlemen who fancy sweets.”

However, since “lollipop” is also an English loanword for a type of traditional Munchkin sweet, many have instead insisted on “reclaiming” the term. The federal government recognizes the Munchkin nation in much the same way as it does the Quadling, Gillikin, and Winkie nations, but the Munchkins remain unique in that they will not accept any members that are over 5’0″ no matter how much Munckin ancestry they may have. Furthermore, any native-born Munchkins who grow taller than that are expelled from the nation.

This has led many anxious Munchkins to invest in growth-stunting drugs, and even some with Munchkin ancestry have attempted to limit their height in order to claim a piece of the nation’s lucrative and unregulated candy trade.

“We Munchkins are a proud nation, ancient and indivisible, and it is we who must reserve for ourselves the right to determine who is Munchkin and who is not,” said Boopsie Aru, current leader of the Lollipop Guild and de facto spiritual leader of the greater Munchkin nation. “We reject any and all externally imposed definitions of who and what Munchkins are.”

On the other hand, activist Pipi Aru insists that the height distinction is meaningless and externally imposed. “When our lands were settled by outsiders, they called every tall person a Quadling and every short person a Munchkin,” says she. “By internalizing this, we have done more damage to our culture than disease or invaders could ever have oped to inflict.”

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