Girls Using Walking Sticks

-notable numbers of young women being diagnosed with medical conditions and needing walking aids
-notable numbers of young women self-diagnosing, or using walking aids for non-medical reasons
-general lack of education about disability in the wider general population

I'm sure we can all agree that all of these issues are concerning, and sometimes overlap.

it’s munchausens by proxy if someone is feigning their own injury or disability

Nuh. We just have to accept some people have conditions that don't affect others and at the least not judge, even better show some compassion and help them partake in the rest of society. And that hidden disabilities being ignored and ridiculed is where the problems stem from.

What are you talking about ? Are you alright.

I have no proof of what exactly? You didn't refer to which part of my post you're talking about.

Same. These people are to blame for so many accidents, suicides etc etc

Is this another phenomenon we are not allowed to notice without being called names. I do think there is a potential for harm here if young people start basing their whole identity around their various diagnoses and the rest of us are expected to pretend not to notice. We had to do that for years with trans and look where that got us.

😂 This place is absolutely barking. What are you trying to imply?! Who are you imagining sitting away plotting new "trends" in some kind of cave, maybe stroking a white cat or something?
Come on, spit it out instead of just doing the ........
😂

Nobody is saying these conditions don't exist not that some people have lives horribly impacted by them. I have a physical disability and jade needed crutches in the past. We're also not saying any specific individual is making it up, we're talking about a population trend.

There is a move to identify into vulnerable groups, often these people feel like they are hard done by in general and are casting about for a reason or quick fix. They do latch on to these conditions with vague symptoms that are hard to diagnose. The main difference I've seen between genuinely disabled people are those who feel too fragile and need everyone to recognise it is the drive to get better, to do physio, take medications, push their boundaries. This group have their vulnerability as their whole identity, we can't pretend they don't exist and that there's overlap with other people choosing identities.

They've completely ruined support groups, making it all about wallowing and no reassurance. So it's not a good thing for people really needing help.

@HopeMumsnet really disappointed that you've left the ableists comments on this thread. I've reported individual comments and I've seen deletions for things less offensive on other threads. You're not doing yourself any favours trying to dispel the rumours of this being an anti inclusive website. On a feminist board too!

Shocking that posters are coming on here and agreeing with them too. Let's hope none of you gets in a traffic accident that completely changes your life, and you have judgy people kicking you when you're down too.

There definitely seems to be a bit more to it than just needing a mobility aid in some cases. I found an article on Google called "The power of canes" by somebody called Heather Hayes; I don't know anything about her but she was saying (not in a negative way) that canes have symbolic, performative value in the trans community as well as being merely practical. Sorry, I don't know how to make a link but if you Google the title and her name it should come up.

So my guess is that several things may be going on at once: an increase in mobility and related issues (eg balance) among younger people, due to long COVID etc; perhaps better diagnoses of invisible disabilities leading to more young people feeling that they don't have to struggle and hide their struggles; a tendency to visible emphasis of disability in particular subcultures; and (possibly) a bit of fashionable poor-me-ing on the back of all this by some people who want attention, because there are a few people who always do that sort of thing.

I also found a surprising number of adverts for rather nice fancy walking sticks of various kinds, there is obviously a big demand and if you need one, it needn't be boring!

I just hope that by the time any fashionable element of it dies away, it won't have had the effect of crying wolf and undermining the people who really need to use a stick, and that young people who need to do so will simply be accepted as doing what they have to do.

As a footnote: I didn't actually need a stick until recently (not as young as I was!) but even in my twenties I used to take one on country walks and when I went out alone at night. Not as a mobility aid, but as a third leg on rough terrain, a longer arm for reaching blackberries and (in case of emergencies) a harder fist.

But you have no proof of this? Dont you realise you are demonising disabled people by saying stuff like this? There are real life consequences to saying stuff like this.

There's a young woman with multicoloured hair (actually it's just blue the past few days) that walks past my house daily with a walking stick, not really touching the ground with it as she walks very fast and I guess touching the ground with it would slow her down. My sibling used to go to F.E. college with her and she was quite attention seeking there, the odd episode of weeping and wailing in class etc along with lots of other attention seeking behaviours. 'Issues', I'm assuming.

And while I'm at it... why the hell is this in a feminist thread? Obvs feminist principles dont apply if you are talking about disabled women.

I think, as we all know about social contagion, esp young girls, it’s not unreasonable to be a bit sceptical. No one is saying that someone who does need sticks should be mocked ( but definitely saying someone who’s just playing at disabled SHOULD be)

A close relative step daughter has started using an elbow crutch the dad thinks it is a "fad" and ignore it, the girl is a midteen my relative is just bamboozled about the whole thing, how odd are teenagers just identifying as disabled now?

Interesting because I always feel embarrassed and like I'm being judged for using a stick. Turns out I am!

The people posting about chronically ill fakers on this thread are just scum really. I can try be diplomatic but in my eyes they are also the type to say "i have lots of black friends so i cant be racist" and "i dont have a problem with gay people but why do they have to be so in your face?"

But the point is always

• they "don't look disabled" (which is ignorant and horrible as many disabilities are invisible)

• I don't believe that particular illness is real/I think it's all in their head which again, is a really nasty thing to say about conditions that can be very disabling

Two crutches is fine, as you can adequately non weight bear or partially weight bear. One crutch, really doesn’t do anything other than get in the way. I’m a physio and we are taught about illness behaviour. This is one of the red flags to identify it.

I’m not sure it’s ableism if you’re mocking people who genuinely don’t need a walking aid and just doing it for attention (and using up disabled people’s spaces). So the question is more whether you believe it or not. From these posts, some do and some don’t. No point getting offended either way.

Are you saying you think those factors are connected, though? If so, how?

Interesting. A girl I used to babysit for uses one, if in the trans community and posts a lot about disability etc.

Some people assume that you must use the stick as you would a crutch - putting all wright on it instead of the leg of that side.

Other, smarter, people know that depending on the reason for the stick depends on the use and it can be anything from additional stability, with no bearing down at all required.

🤯🤯 At mumsnet these days.

A young family member has recently had major surgery and is going about on 2 crutches, only able to partially weight bear through 1 side - they make no difference at all as to how people treat them! No one moves out of the way for them, no one is careful when they walk near or around them. I’m genuinely shocked at people and their inconsiderate attitudes towards those with very obvious physical difficulties.

I agree with you .