By BitterGrey
At the game parties of the local AB/DL group, "Pandemic" is often played. In it, players collaborate to cure diseases before humanity is wiped out. For playability, it uses a Risk-style board, with few interconnections between continents. The covers of some Risk game boxes were decorated with artwork of a sabre-waving general on a white horse. With ICBMs and mass air travel, these conflict models and disease models are undeniably antiquated. As we'll see, the disease models classically applied to infantilism are similarly outdated.
Classically defined infantilism and diaper fetishism are rare. Like all paraphiliasDEF, they are generally lifelong conditions characterized by inexplicable, undeniable desires. Those with them might have struggled against their condition for years, indicating the presence of a condition. They might have grown up thinking they were the only ones. 91% of AB/DLs were born male, and 90% of those became aware of it before the age of 17[1]. The geographic isolation, demographic clustering, and early development are consistent with an inborn condition. Obviously, it would be a stretch to expect some 'diaper fetish gene' or to tie all cases to a particular developmental stage. However, for the purposes of the disease model, we can approximate infantilism as inborn.
Of course, there are exceptions. While some AB/DLs grew up thinking they were the only ones, in one survey 3% reported exposure to AB/DL practices or media, or adult use of diapers as the cause of their desires[2]. These cases also developed later and included a higher percentage of women[2].
Few non-AB/DL ageplayers completed that survey. A visit to a typical ageplay party would suggest that ageplay isn't an exception, but a trend. The anecdotal ageplayer is a woman who enjoys being a "little." She might enjoy the opportunity to be a princess, to be daddy's little girl, to be young and carefree. Diapers might be more optional than central. There is a mix of male ageplayers too. They might have been introduced to ageplay at any age, tried it, and found they like it. This is a growth vector: In contrast to classical infantilism, ageplay is contagious. The more kinky people there are, the more others will be exposed. If they enjoy it, the kink spreads. Kink is communicable.
Ageplay is largely absent from medical literature. This might be fitting, since enjoying it might simply be a matter of taste. Tiidenberg and Paasonen (2019)[3] wrote about a small sample of women who enjoyed roleplaying as little girls. The authors argued that this interest was not the result of pathology, such as infantilism or some other condition. This sample might be too small to note significant demographic trends, much less determine if these trends were integral to the interest, as opposed to patterns in who was trying and liking it.
Pandemically speaking, infantilism and diaper fetishism can be thought of as inborn, while ageplay and other kinks are airborne.
Now briefly back to "Risk." To keep Soviet ICBMs from crippling the US phone system, a network was established. It became the Internet. Previously, kinks were constrained to word-of-mouth communications, or through limited TV and print references. Kinks quickly became Internet-borne, increasing the rate of exposure. This increased the kinky population, and with it, the kink's visibility.
Of course, we wouldn't expect to see a world where everyone is an ageplayer. Many factors might limit growth at some point. For example, kinks are already competing for attention on the Internet. Also, a certain percentage who are exposed won't be interested. However, we could reasonably expect to see a world where most ageplayers don't have a classical infantilism or diaper fetishism.
Furthermore, with communities becoming better connected and more accessible, infantilists found more support and struggled less. Since struggling against the condition was the only indicator of a condition, separating them from those who just had a kink became even harder.
Some seeking to apply the disease model to infantilism and other paraphilias currently don't acknowledge the existence of kink. Expecting one population, they confound two very different populations. They are applying an archaic disease model. They should expect no sympathy from the ageplayers, adult babies, littles, etc., who generally don't consider themselves diseased. The ageplay/AB/DL community's systems of categorization relate to compatibility at parties, not diagnosis or etiologies. They've proliferated. Once, they were a few isolated infantilists and diaper fetishists, who might have been convinced that their condition needed curing. They are now a global, bombproof ageplay/AB/DL community, mostly having fun.
Revised 27 June 2024: Minor updates.
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