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Katie Pennick Profile picture
@KatiePennick
Jul 19, 2023 • 13 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X
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barbie’s wheelchair vs my actual wheelchair: a critical comparison

aka the best twitter thread i will ever post

strap in

#Barbie
a barbie doll with light skin and blonde hair sitting in her barbie wheelchair which is a pink manual wheelchair.
katie, a white woman with blondish hair, sitting in her pink manual wheelchair in the exact same pose as the barbie in the previous photo.
barbie uses a self-propelled manual wheelchair. it’s made of lightweight materials (plastic) making it easy to push, but not particularly durable.

even the cushion is made of (textured!) plastic, offering neither support nor comfort - and will likely result in pressure sores 😬
a top down view of the barbie wheelchair (unoccupied)
a top down view of katie’s wheelchair (unoccupied)
barb’s wheels are huge (probs > than mine which are 24 inch) which is great for efficiency when self propelling.

i’m surprised they’re not cambered which would increase stability and handling.

the tyres are solid - i guess punctures won’t be a problem!

kevlar could never 💅
a side view of barbie’s wheelchair, focusing on the wheels
a side view of katies wheelchair, focusing on the wheels
my wheels are power-assisted, with sensors in the push rims and batteries housed in the central hubs.

it gives me a boost meaning i can self-propel long distances, up hills, over any surface, and at pretty nifty speeds!

i expect barbie gets tired without this feature. i win.
barbie’s front castors are tiny and made of hard plastic. mine are thick (tho they have worn down a lot- i must replace them!) and rubber.

thick front castors are important to avoid getting catapulted out of ur chair when going over rough surfaces

i have more cat hair in mine
a closeup of the castors on barbie’s wheelchair
a closeup of the castors on katies wheelchair
having your name emblazoned upon the back of your wheelchair is honestly such a slay move i can’t fault it. might do the same

however, where does barbie put all her shit?? i see no bag? she’s not gonna be holding a purse if she’s self-propelling…
barbie’s wheelchair from the back, with barbie written on it
katie’s wheelchair from the back, with a rucksack hanging from the handlebars
like me she has no anti-tip wheels, we both like to live dangerously 💕
barbie’s wheelchair has a scissor lock which, granted, are more effective. mine are push/pull because my hands aren’t strong enough to use the other type! but they kinda suck and don’t really work. barbie’s got me there. https://t.co/z3bfNZGFU3twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
onto footplates. fairly similar setups here! both fold upwards out of the way to allow us to wiggle our feet if we want to.

i note that barb’s footplates are set extremely low, to allow for her wearing giant heels literally all the time.

again, a slay move. 👠 https://t.co/iwzHF91S80twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
BARBIE HAS NO MUD GUARDS?? literally anything coming up on her tyres are going straight on her clothes. unhinged choice. why wouldn’t she have these?

mine are pink 😌
barbie in her wheelchair, there are no mud guards so her legs are next to the tyres
barbie in her wheelchair from same angle. there are pink mud guards protecting her legs from the tyres
barbie uses a rigid-frame chair which i respect. that will give her more stability and durability. mines a folding chair so i can take it in cars etc. both choices are valid!
shot of barbie’s wheelchair
katie’s wheelchair, collapsed
in summary: barb’s wheelchair is pretty cool but i’m happy with mine x
on a srs note: i’m so happy that wheelchair barbie exists, and i can’t tell you how thrilled childhood-katie would have been to play with someone that looks like me 🥹
an old photograph of katie as a young girl, playing with her barbies. katie is wide eyed and adorable, and her barbies have no wheelchairs
a young (7 ish) katie sits in her tiny wheelchair smiling

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More from @KatiePennick

Katie Pennick Profile picture
Feb 29
POV: you’re a wheelchair user and the staff haven’t turned up with a ramp, so you’re trapped on an empty train.

The emergency alarm is out of my reach so I have to rely on my shouting skills.

How would you feel if there was a risk of this happening every time you use the train?
We could do so much better.

Raised platforms would allow me to get on and off the train independently and remove the stress of no-show ramps.

At the very least, there should be an alarm that is reachable for wheelchair users to alert the driver that I’m trapped.
It’s not the staff’s fault. They had been told my train was pulling in to a different platform. And they are over worked - there aren’t enough staff to monitor each platform closely!
Read 5 tweets
Katie Pennick Profile picture
Nov 29, 2022
I’ve returned from my trip to Amsterdam! It was lovely.

As a wheelchair user, I found it much more challenging than I had anticipated.

My thoughts on transport and street accessibility…🧵 Katie smiling on a bridge in front of a canal in Amsterdam.
Let’s start with the positives. METRO 🚇

All stations on the metro are wheelchair accessible with lifts, and level boarding.
Tactile signage throughout stations and along platforms.
Wheelchair space clearly marked on carriage doors.
Next station indicated with flashing lights. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Information next to a map of the metro network at a station
HOWEVER. During our 5 day stay, there were multiple occasions where we arrived at a station and the lift was out of service so we couldn’t exit. We had go to next station and get a bus back.

There was no warning about this at other stations, and no announcements on the train. A lift at a metro station that is out of order, with red sigA lift that is out of service. There is a large sign up withA lift that is out of service. A board has been placed next
Read 24 tweets
Katie Pennick Profile picture
Nov 26, 2022
I’m currently in Amsterdam.

Tonight I witnessed an instance of disability discrimination. A tram conductor refused to let a disabled man using a small mobility scooter board.

It was horrible - and has left me with some questions…🧵 A tram pulled into a tram s...
What happened:

I was already on the tram in the wheelchair space. But Amsterdam trams have two spaces - one with a wheelchair symbol and another with a pram symbol.

When the man tried to board, the conductor initially refused saying there was already a wheelchair on board (me). A downwards shot of Katie’s...
I pointed out there was another space, and things started to get heated.

The conductor doubled down, flat out refusing to let the other man board.
Read 16 tweets
Katie Pennick Profile picture
Aug 1, 2021
THREAD: I’m a wheelchair user, and I can’t travel by train on Sundays (it seems).

Context: I’m trying to get to London from a small oxfordshire station. I’ve booked assistance using @PassAssistance, but it is ‘unconfirmed’.

I’ve arrived at the station, and there are no staff… Katie, a white woman with long light-brown hair, is sat in h
The assistance desk is closed and there are no staff at the station at all (not a soul!) meaning there is no one to *unlock* the ramp and allow me to board the train.

If I was on my own, I would be totally stranded. A customer service desk which is closed - it has a blind pul
Luckily my partner is strong and was somehow able to drag my wheelchair up the giant step onto the train.

Both wheelchair spaces are entirely taken up by bikes. On the train, there are several bikes all stashed up togethe
Read 5 tweets
Katie Pennick Profile picture
May 3, 2021
Fun fact about me: I use a ‘teenagers’ wheelchair. It’s tiny. 23inches wide.

If I’m struggling to get through these “gaps”, they are completely impassable for most wheelchair users and visually impaired people with dogs.

Pavements must be kept clear enough for pedestrians.
I’ve found some pavements entirely blocked by seating, where I could not get past at all. A pavement blocked by outdoor seating.Another pavement blocked by tables, chairs and a-boards, and
Add this on top of the existing inaccessible streetspace - barriers everywhere. A junction of a pavements with no dropped kerbs either side.
Read 5 tweets
Katie Pennick Profile picture
Oct 14, 2020
🧵THREAD: I can’t believe I have to explain to y’all why asking disabled people to wait outside and be bought out a coffee - instead of making businesses accessible to all - is unacceptable, but here we are.

(OP name redacted because I don’t agree with Twitter pile-ons) Tweet reads “There is also ...
I’m a wheelchair user (shocking, I know, I NEVER talk about it) which means 80% of shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars, theatres, etc are inaccessible to me. (this is a made up percentage, I don’t know the actual figure - does anyone? it’s a lot).
I can’t go to most places. I simply, literally, can not get in. I am consistently and repeatedly excluded from huge swathes of society.

I can’t begin to explain what that feels like.

So: should we be “willing to cut corners” when it comes to access?
Read 16 tweets

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