TikToker from Bradenton gains fans by demonstrating versatility.
BRADENTON — Emily Rowley climbed into the Mazda SUV and belted the seatbelt
across her lap using her left foot. Her feet turned the starter. Her left
hand operated the gear selection while her right foot grabbed the
brake.
As she backed out of a spot in front of her family's apartment, she checked
her rearview mirror and steered with her toes at the 10 o'clock position.
The 21-year-old took her toes off the wheel as she was driving through sunny
suburban streets approaching a Walmart and pushed the turn signal.
She later chuckled, "Someone asked me how I text while driving." Being born
without arms, it's one of the few things Rowley can't do. Which likely makes
me a safer driver than the majority.
When Rowley passed by looking for a parking spot, the driver in a pickup
truck cocked his head. She was unaware.
She had come to record a video of her shopping. She would post it with her
140,000 combined followers on TikTok and Instagram, just like her videos
showing how she opens a can of olives or puts on artificial eyelashes. She
wanted to make a profession out of social networking but was currently
unpaid.
Although the rare post went viral and received millions of views, the
majority of them still fell well short of that. She had begun blogging each
day. She had to continue constructing.
She is aware that you are curious about how she works but are too polite to
monitor her at the store or question her directly.
She understands that when an inquisitive youngster says, "That girl's got
no arms," the parent is really attempting to be polite, even though she
would prefer that they come over and introduce themselves.
And she is aware that people's inhibitions are lowered, for better or
worse, when given the anonymity of the internet.
She originally gained notoriety by acting out the incident when a waitress
requested her to remove her feet off a table while she was eating. She
demonstrated how to do other things for the commenters who appeared to be
really interested.
She has prepared eggs, put together furniture, and taken off and put back
on her nose ring on TikTok. She has painted her nails, eaten with
chopsticks, and left a swimming pool. She frequently caps off her posts with
an euphoric "thumbs up," showing off Rowley's large toe, beaming smile, and
bright blue eyes.
Emily's elegantly shaved head added to the impression, which her mother
recently described as "it's like whatever energy would have gone to her arms
all flowed into her face."
Rowley carries a notepad filled with nicely written ideas for upcoming
postings, all of which are written with her dominant right foot. The
majority came from followers.
Though most comments on her posts are supportive, it's still social
media.
People often make remarks along the lines of, "Oh you're making me
uncomfortable," she remarked. So, what do you want me to do?
She merely avoids the perverts. Some readers complain that feet are filthy
or offensive.
"If they knew how much I'm Germ-Xing them and how, like, germphobic I am.
I'm pretty demanding in that regard.
I don't like other people's feet, by the way. She pointed to her mother and
said, "I won't touch them. She has nails that I can hardly paint.
Rowley's films of herself driving are by far her most popular and
contentious posts. People argue that something shouldn't be legal or claim
that it can't possibly be. Someone once said, "How could she put her kids in
such peril." Rowley doesn't have any children. She replied by posting a
picture of her driving license.
In the era of automatic moderation, she has experienced the same problems
as other artists. Her account was once suspended for violating the "sexual
content" policy about a tutorial video demonstrating how she dresses using
hooks on the wall of her bedroom. It still irritates her. Her driving videos
contain a warning for potentially hazardous behavior. She said that another
platform only allowed people 18 and older to see her nail-painting videos
because they were misinterpreted for fetish content.
But for the most part, Rowley has been able to monitor people and respond
to their interest in her own way thanks to social media.
Rowley learned to use her feet on her own. She just picked it up.
Despite having microgastria, a condition that the National Institutes of
Health estimates has less than 60 known cases, Rowley's mother said her
daughter accomplished all of the same milestones as other children, only on
her own timetable.
Rowley and her mother don't recall ever talking about her lack of arms when
they were little.
In an interview, Rowley said, "I never questioned it. I didn't experience
any change. I paint in kindergarten together with the other students.
She never cried on the way home, according to Patty Rowley. She never
questioned why. We didn't adopt a "woe is me" mentality or project it onto
her.
She had some difficult falls, wore a helmet, drove a scooter, and dove into
the water on her back. She overcame additional health challenges, including
scoliosis operations every year from the age of six to fifteen. Rowley
achieved her goal of swimming 100 miles in four months at a pool at Camp
Pendleton just before the family relocated from southern California to
Manatee County this year. She aspires to independence. enroll in business
courses. Perhaps she might create an Etsy shop to sell her handmade goods
and personalized clothes. But the aim that really gets her excited is the
influencer thing.
However, she wishes to emphasize more in those films the mistakes and
difficulties, such as spilling a cup of blueberries and burning her foot on
the waffle maker. She keeps uploading bloopers. She "borrowed a hand" from
her father to shave her head.
We all require assistance at times, so I think I could work on that, she
added. Asking for assistance is OK.
Rowley took off a white Croc in Walmart's cosmetics section in order to
release her toes. She balanced herself on her right foot like a crane and
raised her left arm to grasp a makeup pallet. She threw it inside a reusable
shopping bag that she was holding in her right bicep with a single
finger.
She also sent a bag of Goldfish, razors, sparkly iron-ons, and face masks.
She pulled her debit card from a Florida Gators lanyard around her neck and
used it to pay at the self-checkout. Her mother used a phone to
record.
An employee watching the registers said, "That was great." So, Rowley
hoped. Her most recent 10 videos have only received an average of 12,000
views each.
She went home to edit while adding the "Pirates of the Caribbean" questing
instrumental tune. She uploaded it in the morning. She was immediately back
at her list, making a new video, and crossing off the next concept as the
statistics grew and it became clear that it had been a success, bringing
more than 620,000 people.
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