Born without a lower left arm Dayna Troisi, 26, went prosthetic free until she was aged 23. After seeing one being worn by an actress, she began exploring bionic alternatives. These days Dayna sports a black robot arm emblazoned with a Chanel logo, who she names Tatiana. The New Yorker describes her arm as being ‘a little slutty.’ The writer is unapologetic about her limb difference, she hopes sharing her story will change people’s perceptions around sex and disability. Dayna told Barcroft TV: ‘You see a girl walking around with a legit Chanel robot arm obviously you’re going to look. ‘I don’t care when people stare because it’s different and I know I’m different. ‘I love sexiness, I love femininity and I’m so proud of myself that I’m up to a point where I don’t apologize for it. ‘I’m excited by it, to me this is like the ultimate fashion accessory.’
Although now a convivial twenty something with a successful career in publishing, Dayna concedes her childhood was not without its challenges. The 26-year-old admits one of the most difficult parts of growing up without an arm was people falsely expecting she was unable to participate in group activities. ‘When people assumed I couldn’t do things or needed help, that really hurt. ‘Sometimes I did need help and there are things that I’m going to need to adjust to do. ‘It affected my self-esteem, but I also think the fact I was born this way didn’t really give me a choice. ‘I think that’s why I’m such an over achiever in my life because I want to show that I can do things.’
Dayna is sociable and actively dating, and her disability isn’t something she intends to shy away from with prospective dates. ‘On dating apps I’m very open about the fact I have one arm. ‘My bio says ‘bionic bitch’ and all my photos have my arm clearly visible. ‘I want people to know what they’re getting into and I’m just open about it. ‘I think it makes people feel very comfortable with me.’
As a dating writer, Dayna proudly champions that disabilities shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying a healthy sex life. She said: ‘Even though some things might be a little different for you, everyone is still totally deserving of pleasure. ‘There’s something so kinky about being a fem-bot or cyborg. ‘I just wish women would fetishize me the way men do. I would love it if a girl was like that’s so hot!’ Dayna hopes to change the conversation around sex and disability with her unapologetic approach to honest and frank conversations. ‘To grow up with only the narrative that you can overcome something or be an inspiration is really limiting and kinda un-sexy,’ she said. ‘Opening those conversations to make able-bodied people less scared to be curious about having sex with disabled people.’
In her personal life Dayna revels in her sexuality, femininity and sees her arm as a USP on the dating scene. ‘I’m never going to grow a limb so I might as well enjoy this and embrace it. ‘All the things that I thought would make me stick out – being gay, being disabled, make me, me and give me a story to tell.’
