Paraphilic infantilism
Paraphilic infantilism, also known as adult baby, is a form of ageplay that involves role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. Like other forms of adult play, depending on the context and desires of the people involved, paraphilic infantilism may be expressed as a non-sexual fetish, kink, or simply as a comforting platonic activity. People who practice adult baby play are often colloquially referred to as "adult babies", or "ABs".
Behaviors vary, but may include things such as wearing and using diapers, drinking from a baby bottle or sucking on a pacifier, and engaging in gentle, nostalgic and nurturing experiences, baby talk, or BDSM power dynamics involving masochism, coercion, punishment or humiliation.
Paraphilic infantilism is often associated with diaper fetishism, a separate but related activity in which people derive pleasure or ecstasy from themselves or others wearing or using diapers, but without necessarily involving any form of ageplay. People with a diaper fetish are often informally called "diaper lovers", or "DLs". In practice, however, these strict labels do not always reflect the true diversity of expression. As such, when considered together, paraphilic infantilism and diaper fetishism form a spectrum of behaviors that are often colloquially referred to under the umbrella term "adult baby/diaper lover", or "AB/DL".
Like other sexual fetishes, there is no single recognized psychological origin for paraphilic infantilism and very little research has been done on the subject as of yet. A variety of theories have been proposed for fetish development in general, including unique lovemaps, imprinting or altered erotic targets, though no scientific consensus has emerged. Though it varies from person to person, paraphilic infantilism may sometimes be linked to masochism, urolagnia, garment fetishes or other consensual kinks.
Characteristics and practices
Paraphilic infantilists are people who derive sexual pleasure and/or emotional comfort from imagining themselves as, and pretending to be, children. It is a specific form of ageplay and, more broadly, sexual role-play, that can be practiced alone or with consenting adult partners. As a paraphilia, paraphilic infantilism may represent an atypical sexual interest but is not usually associated with any psychological disorder or poor mental health, and adult baby play can be considered a conscious and valid act of sexual expression. In addition, some people participate in adult baby play purely for the positive feeling and emotional comfort associated with childhood and being cared for; to what degree eroticism plays a role depends heavily on the participants and context.Whether performed solo or with others, one large part of paraphilic infantilism can be dressing in childlike clothing and using related accessories and items along with other behaviors, such as eating while sitting in a highchair, sleeping in a crib, drinking from a baby bottle or sippy cup, or eating off of children's tableware. As such, depending on the person, it may or may not be associated with a variety of garment and object fetishes, like diaper fetishism.
Another large part of adult baby expression can be behaving like an infant or toddler and engaging in activities such as crawling, sitting on the floor and playing with toys or games, coloring in children's coloring books and activity books, consuming food or drinks associated with childhood, breastfeeding, using diapers or other clothes and being changed, taking naps, engaging in baby talk, etc.
Relationship dynamics
When engaging in paraphilic infantilism with partners, various dynamics are possible and participants may take up a variety of different roles, including one or more participants acting as "littles", while others may function as "caregivers" or "switches". This relatively common dynamic is generally referred to as "caregiver/little", or "CG/L".After consent, rules and play roles are established, the interaction between the little and their partner can take on different forms depending on the desires of the people involved and the nature of the scene. During more nurturing scenes, the little may be cared for or comforted by their caregiver In this case, the adult baby may want only gentle or comforting treatment, based on the desire to be cared for or to "surrender the responsibilities of adult life". In other types scenes, the presence of BDSM dynamics might involve being talked down to, being denied adult treatment, activities or facilities, as well as being scolded, spanked or chastised for misbehaving, acting out, having wet or soiled their diapers, etc. In this latter instance, the mode of arousal is at least partially masochistic.
Potential participants may prefer one specific type of scene over others, or they might enjoy taking part in various different types of scenes.
Sexuality
Adult baby play may also involve masturbation or sexual intercourse between consenting adult partners. However, some may choose not to engage in conventional sexual activities.Like many other fetishes, the erotic pleasure derived solely from paraphilic infantilism may partially or completely replace the need for conventional sex in reaching orgasm, though it depends on the individual and their level of sexual interest.
Prevalence
Meaningful information on the incidence or prevalence of any paraphilias is lacking due to the private nature of such practices. Similarly, it has been observed that adult baby play is often a closeted activity and it is not yet well documented in medical literature.In one study of AB/DL website participants, 93% of the sample was male. 58% of the men and 34% of the women were heterosexual. Males on average first became interested in AB/DL at age 11, and started practicing it at the age of 13, compared to the ages of 12 and 16 for females, respectively. The most frequent activities were wearing diapers, wetting, and using other baby items. 87% of the men and 91% of the women reported that their AB/DL had not caused any significant problems or distress.
It also reported that 9% of Yahoo groups devoted to fetishes dealt with paraphilic infantilism, which was high in relation to other fetishes. The same study, however, noted that males became interested in paraphilic infantilism earlier than females, at age 11 rather than 12, and also began to act on their interests earlier, at 13 rather than 16. It also found that while most males interested in paraphilic infantilism were primarily heterosexual, most females were primarily bisexual. 34% of women were primarily heterosexual. Although both men and women varied in terms of education, only 66% of men and 39% of women earned more than $25,000 a year.
Because atypical sexual behaviors which do not cause functional impairment, personal distress, danger to others, or have legal implications are generally not considered to be unhealthy or have psychiatric significance, people who practice closeted fetish activities like paraphilic infantilism are often not under the purview of psychiatric awareness and knowledge. Likewise, many people who engage in paraphilias do not consider themselves as suffering from a medical condition and do not feel a need or lasting desire to change their behavior. Individuals who practice paraphilic infantilism may only seek therapy for other unrelated issues or, if discovered by others, be encouraged or coerced to seek treatment pertaining directly to the paraphilia itself. This, however, makes it difficult to know the exact prevalence and distribution of kinks among the general population, thus highlighting the potential of anonymous internet surveys for data collection on the AB/DL community.
Relation to other behaviors
Infantilism is a diffuse phenomenon and different authorities have taken varied approaches to the question of its medical and sexological classification.With diaper fetishism
Strictly speaking, people with a diaper fetish may be aroused by the idea of wearing diapers as an adult, and may not participate in any form of ageplay. Practically speaking, there can be a great deal of variation and overlap between paraphilic infantilisms and diaper fetishists, and the term "AB/DL" can be used as a catch-all term which includes a broad spectrum of related kinks and behaviors. As diapers are a commonly used a prop for "adult baby" role-play, diaper fetishism may be considered a potential component of paraphilic infantilism.Sexologist John Money distinguished between paraphilic infantilism and paraphilic diaper-wearing, stating that the latter is a paraphilic fetish that manifests as an erotic attraction to an article of clothing while the former is a non-fetishistic paraphilia directed at a change of status in terms of age identity.
With BDSM
In some cases, paraphilic infantilism can involve elements of BDSM. For example, the pseudo-forced used of childish clothing and/or diapers as a way of establishing a power dynamic of dominance and submission, as well as for scenes involving punishment and humiliation.The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that along with other behaviors, sexual masochists "...may have a desire to be treated as a helpless infant and clothed in diapers " and this association is repeated by others. Masochism appears to be particularly important for female infantilists.
Psychologists D. Richard Laws and William O'Donohue state that "Although infantilism is classified as a sexual masochism in the DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR, it is questionable whether the criteria for sexual masochism are always met. For example, if the infantile role playing does not involve feelings of humiliation and suffering, then the diagnosis of sexual masochism would not be appropriate and a diagnosis of infantilism as a paraphilia is warranted." Sexologist John Money, in his book Lovemaps describes paraphilic infantilism as a possible "...adjunctive to masochistic discipline and humiliation." Sexologist William B. Arndt considers paraphilic infantilism to combine forms of fetishism, transvestism and masochism. Wilhelm Stekel considered sado-masochistic practices to be variant behavior arising from psychosexual infantilism.
A potential connection between paraphilic infantilism and sadomasochism has been noted in the Polish publication, Przegląd Seksuologiczny. Research results within the publication indicated that 28% of those paraphilic infantilists surveyed reported an interest in BDSM.