I’m 4ft 7 and have no arms – dating is a nightmare, I never know if men are genuinely interested in me
A MAKEUP artist who has no arms and is a petite 4ft 7 has revealed how her unique body type attracts the wrong kind of men.
Brianne Surgeoner, 22, is a social media sensation and has never let any of her medical needs stop her from leading a fabulous lifestyle.
But one thing that does infuriate the Paisley-based influencer is the amount of fellas who fetishise her and act differently than they would around other women.
The TikTok star lost both arms after developing amniotic band syndrome in the womb and battles functional neurological disorder as well as contending with other health issues like a clubbed foot, bowed bones and hypoglycaemia.
But the aspiring actress insists the worst thing someone can do is assume she needs a knight in shining armour just because she looks different.
Brianne says: “I’ve never properly been in a relationship mainly because of work.
“There’s people who you think are nice but they’re just nice to me because I’m disabled.
“If someone is comfortable around me they won’t always ask if I need help and they let me do my own thing.
“But weirder people talk to you like a child and I’m not a child.
“You see pals having five boyfriends and all these different partners and you wonder if you’re too picky.
“But you have to be otherwise you could end up with a creep.”
Brianne, represented by Glasgow-based All Talent Agency, adds: “On a night out it’s hard because people are drunk, I don’t mind people asking questions.
“Are you buying me a drink because you think it’s a shame, is this a sympathy drink?
“People have a lot more confidence in asking questions when you’re disabled.
“It’s usually before they even say hi. People act like I should be grateful that anyone would even want to give me attention because I’m disabled, I’m broken.
“They get offended because a disabled girl just rejected them, how bad is that?
“In certain nightclubs where anyone can get in, you do get a lot of people who come up to you and shout in my ear asking how I lost my arms or ask my friends, they just touch me and poke and prod.
“It’s just the end of the elbow so I’ve no idea why, it’s not going to shoot out confetti, if anything they will be creeped out, it’s just bone and skin.
“You’re not touching my pals’ elbows, what is different about mine – because I’m missing the bit next to it?”
One of the biggest things for Brianne is making sure that a prospective partner treats her as an equal.
She’s noticed that it’s often not the case when someone with disabilities dates someone who keeps better health.
The makeup expert says: “Different things do go through your mind.
“Like, would you not rather be with someone else? thinking they could be with someone better suited.
“Am I just going to burden this person, will this cause a strain on a relationship?
“Quite a lot of people who have a disability usually end up marrying one the first people they date.
“Sometimes people don’t mean it, they think they’re just being nice, but would you ask someone else if they needed help to do a really basic thing?”