A frustrated mom took to social media to vent about “single women” who use handicapped stalls in public restrooms. She said that the bigger stalls should be reserved for mothers who have small children in tow and need the extra room.
However, others noticed some significant flaws in her arguments and did not agree that mothers were entitled to bigger bathroom stalls just because they had children.
The mom urged single women to stop using the bigger bathroom stall in Target after she had no choice but to use a smaller stall with her baby.
In a since-deleted TikTok video, Caroline Weber (@kingdom.mama), shared footage of her struggling to use the restroom in a Target store with her baby and shopping cart.
Since the bigger stall was occupied, Weber had no choice but to use one of the smaller stalls. She could not fit the entire shopping cart into the stall with her, so the mom opted to leave the door open with her baby in the cart facing her to keep an eye on both of them.
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Now, she is blaming “single women” who hog the big restroom stalls for her dilemma.
“Having to pee like this…SINGLE WOMEN, PLEASE STOP TAKING THE BIG STALL WHEN YOU’RE ALL ALONE AND PHYSICALLY CAPABLE,” Weber wrote in the text overlay of her video.
The mom said she often struggles to use the Target bathroom when shopping with her baby.
“When there are 5 stalls, all pretty clean, and you WALK in ALONE to the big stall. . . You make moms angry,” she wrote to those who use the big stalls.
“Not only do I have a baby with me, but I also have that mom bladder; no, I’m not waiting on you to finish your poop in the big stall. Open-door peeing it is.”
While Weber clearly believed that she and other moms were entitled to the bigger stall, not everyone was on her side.
In fact, just because a disabled person is not in the bathroom at the time you are, doesn’t mean the stall should be occupied. For many, bathroom accessibility is limited, and convenience does not and should not trump necessity.
Dallas, Texas-based wheelchair access advocate Marcela Marañon told HuffPost, “Stop and think how would you feel if someone compromised your independence simply for their own convenience.”
Most people argued that Weber could have left the shopping cart outside.
“So, typically babies aren’t glued to the cart! Hope this helps!” one TikTok user pointed out.
“Wait, why did you take the whole cart in there? I’ve NEVER thought of that,” another user wrote.
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Others noted that Target stores often have family restrooms for this exact reason.
When using bathroom stalls, it’s important to remember that not all disabilities are visible.
Some people may suffer from issues that not everyone else can see and need the bigger space in order to use the restroom, whether they have children with them or not.
“I use the bigger stall because I have balance issues and get dizzy. Sometimes it may not be obvious why someone needs it,” one TikTok user shared.
“I appear healthy to others but I need the rail in the large bathroom since I was hit by a car as a child. So you never know based on my appearance alone,” another user commented.
“As a single woman with a bladder, if everything is occupied but the bigger one is not I will take it. If they’re all occupied then you just wait,” another wrote.
Even if you are handicapped or unable to use the smaller bathroom stalls, you still may need to wait your turn when the bigger stall is occupied. It is just a part of choosing to go out in public.
Just because someone chooses to be a parent does not give them superiority or favors over the rest of society.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
