Diaper fetishism

Did You Know?

• In September 2015, Huffington Post Arts & Culture published an interview on diaper fetishes.
• South Korean girl group Girl's Day were accused of wearing costumes that looked like oversized diapers, dubbed diaper fashion.

Behavior and attraction

People who wear diapers for recreational purposes may informally classify themselves as diaper lovers (DLs), though their motivations vary widely. Some use diapers to achieve or enhance sexual pleasure as part of a kink or fetish, while others find diapers to be a source of non-sexual positive feelings such as comfort, relaxation, nostalgia, or being cared for. Many DLs experience both sexual and non-sexual gratification; strictly speaking, the term diaper fetishism applies only to those who derive at least some sexual arousal from the activity. There is no singular or archetypal behavior, and a wide range of thought patterns and activities exist, all tending to be harmless forms of self-expression. Wearing diapers can be an intense multisensory experience involving touch (the soft, bulky, or squishy feeling), sight (seeing oneself or another adult in a diaper), sound (the crinkle of the material), and in some cases smell (baby powder, wet wipes, urine, or feces). For some, any one of these sensations may be enough stimulus for erotic pleasure or sexual arousal, and may overlap with other paraphilias. Some DLs prefer to simply wear diapers without using them, while others experience increased arousal from wetting or messing in their diapers. Others simulate a used diaper by saturating the polymer gel core with water, other liquids, blood, semen, or soft solids. Some people stick within a particular comfort zone, while others explore or experiment with various types of play.

Diapers in other fetishes

Diaper lovers, including those with a diaper fetish, are often associated with adult babies (ABs) and referred to under the umbrella term AB/DL. While both may wear diapers for sexual arousal and positive feelings, a DL's interest lies mainly in the diaper itself, whereas an AB uses the diaper as an element of ageplay—a prop to help roleplay as a child. In practice, AB/DL represents a spectrum of interests and behaviors, with some who classify themselves as DLs being open to some degree of ageplay, and some who classify themselves as ABs (or littles or middles) being only marginally interested in diapers. As ageplay has become more popular and less stigmatized, an industry has developed around goods for the community, including adult diapers (cloth and disposables with elaborate designs), childish clothing in adult sizes, and other ageplay accessories sold worldwide. AB/DL products are increasingly available at sex shops and mainstream online retailers. Less commonly, diapers may be used as a prop during ageplay scenes where a participant plays as an older adult. Diapers also play a part in BDSM scenes, either as a passive convenience during long bondage sessions where the bound participant cannot use a toilet, or as an active element in scenes involving power dynamics like movement modification, bathroom restriction, diaper punishment, or humiliation. Another dynamic blending BDSM with ageplay is caregiver/little (CG/L), where one participant takes on a caregiver or parental role (daddy, mommy, etc.) and another takes on a childlike role; this can overlap with AB/DL play. Some rubber and plastic fetishists have an affinity for diapers and rubber pants—for disposables, the attraction is to the crinkly plastic backing; for cloth diapers, it is to the latex or PVC of the pants worn over them.

Fetish diapers

Many companies that make and sell adult diapers have begun to create products designed to appeal to the kink community. Also called ABDL diapers, these often have increased absorbency and vibrant, cute, or playful designs. While diapers for incontinence prioritize discretion and pull-up designs, fetish diapers are typically tape/tab style and prioritize absorbency, aesthetics, feel, sound, eroticism, and nostalgia. They may feature plastic backing for a crinkling sound, hook-and-loop tapes for improved fit, external wetness indicators, and added scents. Adult cloth diapers, diaper covers, and training pants designed for the ABDL community also exist, though they are less popular. Fetish diapers are typically found online, at kink lifestyle conventions and specialty stores, or in some sex shops, unlike medical diapers which are available at supermarkets and drug stores.

Clinical significance

Diaper fetishism is an atypical sexual interest, but this alone does not indicate a mental health problem or cause for concern. The 2013 edition of the DSM-5, published by the American Psychiatric Association, clearly separates atypical sexual interests (often called kinks, fetishes, or paraphilias) from paraphilic disorders. The APA notes that most people with such interests do not have a mental disorder, meaning diaper fetishism can be a valid, harmless form of sexual expression. A fetish can become a paraphilic disorder only if the behavior or desire causes personal distress, not just distress from societal disapproval. In the earlier DSM-IV, forced diaper wearing was listed as an expression of sexual masochism, but all references to diaper fetishism were removed from the DSM-5 as part of a broader move to declassify and depathologize paraphilias. The DSM-5 now distinguishes paraphilias from paraphilic disorders, allowing researchers to study unusual interests while only classifying them as disorders when they cause distress or dysfunction.