A Texas woman recently made an argument on TikTok highlighting that non-disabled people often occupy the handicapped stalls in public restrooms, causing disabled people to wait.
The humorous TikTok clip was posted by Dallasite Marcela Marañon (@thejourneyofabravewoman) on Friday and has received a total of 5.5 million views.
"Handicapped stalls are built and designed for those with disabilities, especially wheelchair users," Marañon, who uses a wheelchair, captioned the post.
Her video taken in the Dallas airport has since garnered a multitude of irked reactions from all types of users. Many of them think the stalls are, indeed, accessible for those with disabilities but are not strictly reserved for them.
The Texas woman was paralyzed from the waist down after a 2002 car accident in the DFW area.
Marañon now uses a wheelchair and has become a dedicated advocate for worldwide accessibility using her social media platform to show her reality as a solo traveler.
Many public restrooms are equipped with handicapped stalls that allow a comfortable experience for people with disabilities. "Accessible toilet rooms shall be on an accessible route," The Americans with Disabilities Act requires.
The comment section of the previously mentioned viral post is full of users sharing their opinions and thinking the woman’s point of view is wrong.
The comment section on Marañon's viral TikTok video.thejourneyofabravewoman | TikTok
"You never know if someone who looks able-bodied actually has an invisible illness and needs this stall just as much as someone in a wheelchair," one user wrote.
The most echoed reasoning comes from moms with multiple children and those with physical ailments that aren't visibly present. They believe that everyone has to wait in an annoying line for the restroom from time to time.
The content creator says she did not mean to offend anyone with her "satirical" clip.
"There was no one in the bathroom, and she wanted to point out her regular experiences with a comedic point of view," Marañon's representative told Narcity. "She was surprised by the amount of ableism out there."