Ariel Peterson, 21, was enjoying herself in the bar on Friday night when a feeling of overwhelming dread came over her. Across the room was a man clearly staring in Peterson’s direction. And Peterson was not quite sure what to make of it.
Peterson, a wheelchair user, has been used to strangers staring at her for her entire life. As she’s aged into young adulthood, however, there’s a new wrinkle in the equation that slightly complicates the ways in which she might be objectified.
She is hot. And she knows it.
She is, however, also keenly aware of the ways in which people who use wheelchairs are otherized anytime they are out in public.
“Just once I’d like to be sure someone is staring at me because I look sexy! I know I look sexy, but I’m always afraid people refuse to see it because I’m crippled,” she said.
“In this case, I’d rather have the benevolent sexism than the ableism. I am trying to get laid, after all! It’d be nice to meet someone.”
Then she added, “And this dude’s decent looking.”
Peterson does, however, lament the fact that she’s never has a stereotypical “young-woman-at-a-bar” experience.
“Nobody ever buys me alcohol in a half-assed attempt to get into my pants!” she whined.
“I know it’s a shitty, patriarchal custom, but I would welcome that kind of bullshit. Alcohol isn’t dangerous for people just because they’re crippled!”
Unable to shake her curiosity, and with the anxiety of not knowing getting to her, she made the decision to roll over to the guy in question and acknowledge the tension.
The two struck up a conversation, but Peterson immediately shut it down upon discovering this guy wasn’t just supportive of her disability — he was maybe a little TOO supportive, if you know what we mean.