"Infantilism is a phenomenon, which is an uncommon and possibly sexual orientation

toward infantile things, actions, or situations; usually giving sexual pleasure, emotional comfort,

or an outlet for social stresses." (LilJennies "Infantilism vs Pedophilia." 1998). There are several

variations of infantilism the two most common are ageplay and the diaper fetish.

Ageplay or "TransVestism" is a role in which the participant brings out their inner child.

Most go back to an infant or toddler age. The participant if in a couple situation one plays the

parentlike authority figure while the other brings out their innermost desires. During the ageplay

scenario the book (Different loving: An Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and

Submission.) suggests that some ageplayers seek to replay one key fantasy. One example would

be a person who eroticizes a specific age and fantasizes about a specific scenario, such as being

caught on the Internet in a web site like DPF and gets scolded and disciplined for having these

thoughts.

Then their is the diaper fetish which is also known as Fetishism (objects) . It focuses on

infantile objects, such as diapers, plastic pants, and pacifiers. This is where most infantilists play

out their role, most of these participants get the secure feeling of being back in diapers. When

people were back in diapers at a young age they always had the secure feeling of having

someone around to take care of them and made them feel secure. (Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex

Practices: Love Brenda)

Just about every infantilist feels lonely, isolated and feels abnormal. Dan who is a

member of DPF felt very wrong that he did not belong to the way society thinks. Every

infantilists keeps these feelings/desires hidden, kept as a dark secret. Each one feels out of all

humanity, is like this. It is nearly harmless in and of itself, but we still repress it. Each person

fears disgrace, ridicule as a abnormal or weirdo in the way society thinks of us.

Most members feel these desires or differences between the ages of five and fifteen.

When the desires become to much their personality changes and the person has an usual

curiosity or interest in things associated with babies. These could be objects, most visibly

diapers, but could also be sensations or situations as well. Normally, these are notable because

they oppose the common urging to mature or the common aversion to bodily waste. At puberty,

these interests may take on an additional, sexual element, becoming more infuential and

typically more repressed. If acted on, they may involve experimenting with some form of diaper.

This experimentation may be accompanied by masturbation and fantasies. Diapers may

become a common theme in dreams. Feelings of guilt at being different, perverse, or disgustion

are common, starting at the realization that these longings aren’t common. This guilt tends to

fade slowly after the discovery that there are others who share this orientation. ( Explorations III

- Understanding Infantilism: BitterGrays Den:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6745/treatis.htm)

Dan started to realize at the age of 17 that these feelings are okay. Each person has their

own way of doing things and that each person is normal. This occurred when his older brother

revealed that he was gay, he just accepted him for who he was even thou he did not understand

how his brother could be that way. After accepting his older brother and doing research on the

Internet he realized that their are more people who have similar attractions toward infantile

things mostly towards diapers.

With more research on this topic I found out that their is approximately 18 million people

world wide, that have these types of feelings and that they participate in a widespread of

varieties. I also realized that more male than female have these feelings. This could be

because males just seem to be more susceptible to developing sexual fetishes than females, but it

could also be because in this society males are more encouraged to explore their sexuality than

females are. (LilJennies "Infantilism vs Pedophilia." 1998). After researching this topic I found

out that the Internet is the best way for each infantilist to stay in contact with others and to be

able to find information on infantilism. One of the best sources for information and support is

DPF (Diaper Pail Friends) which is on the Internet.

After Dan finally realized the he was an Infantilist he wanted to find out more

information on why he was an infantilst and how these feelings came about. So he started to

read books on the subject. The best book on Infantilism was Different Loving in which the book

stated that a majority of infantilist regress back to the age of an infant or toddler or have these

types of feelings because as a child they did not get the nurturing that they needed from their

own parents so they try to find them from other sources, to make up for what they missed out on

as a young child.

So as you can see being a infantilism is nothing to be ashamed of and that it has nothing

about involving children, it’s just something to replace what you lost out on or a feeling you do

not want to give up.

1.) Love, Brenda. Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. New York: Barricade Books, 1992.

2.) Allen, Dan. Personal Interview. 30 July 1999.

3.) LilJennie’s "Infantilism vs Pedophilia." 1998

http://www.kiva.net/~flint/notepad.html (06 Aug. 1998) July 29, 1999

4. Brame, Gloria g., William d, Brame. and Jon Jacobs. Different Loving: An Exploration of

the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission. New York: Villard Books, 1993.

5. Bittergreys Den "Explorations III- Understading Infantilism" 1997

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6745/treatis.htm July 29, 1999