Girls Using Walking Sticks

[Arran2024]

I saw a post about this on X this morning. Apparently it is a trend.

Anyway, I went into town this afternoon and sure enough, I saw a number of young women with walking sticks. None of them looked like they were leaning hard on their stick, just kind of walking along like it was a big umbrella.

Is anyone else seeing this?

My sibling is 25 and uses a stick. Was diagnosed with arthritis in both knees and ankles at 4 yeses old. Is that sufficient? I'll be sure to let them know they're on trend.

Well fancy that ..
I am bang on Trend . .
Started to use a walking stick due to foot drop mainly .. Its a dark red one.

As is rude people pushing in the bus queue to get a seat.
It’s not at all common for someone to need a seat at the back of the bus.

As someone with a physical disability affecting my joints, who has used sticks in the past, I do not understand this at all but I think it’s better than when I was growing up at least.

I hated using any mobility aids, showing any signs of being different and now it’s not only acceptable but praised? I think there’s something positive about that in a twisted way.

My point stands.

Pretending you have a disability doesn’t do any favours for disabled people

Isn't it caused by women taking testosterone? It's really bad for their bones?

So does mine.

Also plain rudeness is a bigger thing.

I haven't seen this trend in my area. I work with young people, many of who are autistic and some are on the self identifying route but none have had sticks yet.

Funny trends these days... walking sticks... asexuality... I wonder who actually are the trendsetters....

I thought maybe it was for the swagger. Like in a cabaret with a top hat and some fish net tights.

We’ve had a couple in the school I work at, it tends to be the “quirky” students. In one case we were under the impression that Mum was trying to find something wrong with her child for what we can only imagine was a benefits scam, during school hours she couldn’t walk without it but out of school she played sport absolutely fine at a competitive level and had no problems running about. The other had always been quite attention seeking and had been caught out exaggerating and making up stories about her life and health repeatedly. Other than this I’ve not seen any other girls with walking sticks.

EDS is a genetic disorder, and the diagnostic criteria were tightened in 2017. One cannot simply self diagnose a genetic disorder.

POTs/MCAS are being diagnosed more often, and mostly in women, since 2020. They are common post viral sequelae of Covid-19 infection. (And, frankly, the consequences of Covid-19 will continue to increase as long as public health policy continues to ignore it.) They are real and debilitating.

I think it would be very unfortunate if prominent GC commentators start to pass comment on disabled people, especially at the moment when disabled people are under significant pressure due to discussions about disability benefits and cuts. Disabled women in particular have been central to the campaign for single sex spaces.

DOI I use a walking stick. (I do not, however, have any self ID diagnoses, and I don't have POTS or similar.)

I don't think that it would work for me. Over 4 weeks I would leave one one the train; one on the Tube; one in a restaurant and one in the hotel.

I had 2 sticks when I was recovering from a collapsed spine. I lost them both within a fortnight once I didn't absolutely need them to stand up and walk.

I completely agree and don’t condone it, it’s just hard to comprehend and young me would’ve felt a lot more comfortable if it was ‘trendy’ back then.

What is POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

Tachycardia in response to the body not adjusting blood pressure to compensate for movement. Can involve fainting/blacking out although more nose slamming on table and blood everywhere than the decorative swoon, but a whole lot more issues too. None of them romantically exciting.

Can i just say I have a neurological disability which causes weakness on one side and resulting balance issues. I sometimes use a stick on bad days. A stick is not like crutches, ie you arent relying on it to keep weight off a limb. For me its to prevent accidents. I am also a young(ish) woman.

I dont wear a lanyard, I dont have pots, but so what if I did? I just want to get to the shops without being afraid of falling or feeling like i can't go out because of a degenerative condition (which is soooo much fun to have).

A lot of assumptions on this thread which are very shameful. I notice when I use a stick I get a lot of dirty looks and people pushing past me and this proves its not just in my head.

I use a walker and a wheelchair depending on what kind of day I'm having/the demands of the situation. Neither is romantic or exciting, it's a bloody nuisance. I do have POTS but it's tagged, as it very often is, on top of another and also degenerative condition. It is going to be great when the public view of mobility aids shifts to 'fashion statement' and 'fad'.

I've seen this too, but mostly on Instagram. There appears to be an increasing number of young women with FND, POTS, hypermobility, etc. They wear their green disability lanyards and appear not to work.

For years I did everything possible not to use a stick despite my lurching gait. I am now on two crutches but this thread has made me smile as I am finally , and for the very first time in my life , on trend.

No, I don't have POTS but CP with a very odd walk.

Personally, I feel sorry if people are using sticks as part of a trend or to show they are different or to make an invisible disability obvious to others. Most people are very helpful - getting out of my way, offering seats etc but I can't help but think that may reduce if sticks are seen as the latest trend.

I will go back to dreaming of being able to walk without a stick or crutches....

There was a small class at my college where one girl used a stick, and by the end of the year 3 other girls in that class all used one too…

Nailed it. There are lots of girls like this in my small city, they always dress the same way as well. They also have a penchant for very childish looking backpacks with fluffy character things attached to them, and will often carry cuddly toys around. They've got that whole Japanese/Korean thing going on of clinging on to very childish things in young adulthood.

Now it's been mentioned I realise I had noticed the walking stick thing a while ago but I hadn't made the link. I just thought it was odd that I'd seen so many young women with mobility issues, all of whom seemed to be cut from the same cloth as it were, in a short space of time. It perfect makes sense now. I'm into town tomorrow so I will get my bingo card and stamper out.

I've spotted that particularl set of characteristics too @GirlOverboard123

Social contagion?

(I have a very obvious physical disability - interestingly, my son mentioned today that he's 'relieved' that my disability IS so obvious so that I don't look like one of the blue haired, dungaree wearing brigade)

The point is that they shouldn’t be judging…