A British Paralympian has revealed her struggles dating as a disabled person in a light-hearted video — joking that she doesn’t know if men are interested in her or just ‘want to travel for free on the bus’.
Sprinter Maria Lyle, 21, from Dunbar, Scotland, shared a video inside the Olympic Village in Tokyo with teammate and long jumper Polly Maton, also 21, from .
In a video that’s racked up more than 158,000 views, the pair joke that they ask themselves if men they speak to have a ‘genuine romantic interest’ or ‘just want to use their blue badge’.
A British Paralympian has revealed her struggles dating as a disabled person in a light-hearted TikTok video — joking that she doesn’t know if men are interested in her or just ‘want to travel for free on the bus’. Maria Lyle (left), 21, from Dunbar, Scotland, shared a video inside the Olympic Village in Tokyo with Team GB teammate and fellow sprinter Polly Maton (right), also 21, from London.
The pair were taking part in the ‘Pretty Young Twerkulator’ challenge which sees users dance to a remix of Michael Jackson’s Pretty Young Thing and Twerkulator by US Hip Hop duo City Girls and ask a series of questions which challenge societal norms.
In one, Maria, who has cerebral palsy, asks: ‘Is he interested in me or does he just feel sorry for the disabled girl?’.
While in another, Polly, who was born without her right arm says: ‘Is he interested in me or does he have a disability fetish?’ before adding: ‘Is he interested in me or does he want me to be his Captain Hook?’
It’s one in a series of videos filmed by the pair, who are roommates in Tokyo.
The pair were taking part in the ‘Pretty Young Twerkulator’ challenge which sees users dance to a remix of Michael Jackson’s Pretty Young Thing and Twerkulator by US Hip Hop duo City Girls and ask a series of questions which challenge societal norms. In one, Maria, who has cerebral palsy, asks: ‘Is he interested in me or does he just feel sorry for the disabled girl?’.
While in another, Polly, who was born without her right arm says: ‘Is he interested in me or does he have a disability fetish?’ before adding: ‘Is he interested in me or does he want me to be his Captain Hook?’
In another, they showed off their ‘no sex beds’, views of Tokyo and joked they were fake tanning before their races.
Polly also said she gets asked if she ‘needs a hand’ while Maria said that despite getting her walk mimicked people often don’t know she’s disabled.
Maria competes within the T35 classification at the Paralympics, which is for people who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis.
She will be hoping to repeat her success from Rio 2016 when she took home Bronze medals in the 100m and 200m race while picking up a silver for the 4 x 100m relay.
Meanwhile, Polly competes T47 category, primarily for competitors with a below elbow or wrist amputation. This is her first time competing at the Paralympics., she took home a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships.
Polly also said she gets asked if she ‘needs a hand’ (right) while Maria said that despite getting her walk mimicked people often don’t know she’s disabled (left)
Thousands of TikTok users commented on the post, praising their great sense of humour.
‘I have a blue badge and I love this,’ said one.
‘You missed, «if he interested in me or does he just want to go to the cinema for free»‘ joked another.
While a third wrote: ‘I’m so glad I’m on Paralympic TikTok, this is what I’ve been missing in my life,’.
