Adult diaper-wearing fetishists complain about pedophilia accusations

The Adult Baby and Diaper Lover (AB/DL) communities want people to stop assuming they are attracted to children and according to a report by The Stranger there are a number of reasons a person may engage in AB/DL including "Relaxation, comfort, or stress relief" among other reasons given besides a sexual fetish.

A study conducted by Kevin J. Hsu and J. Michael Bailey found that among the 200 AB/DL men surveyed less than five percent had any attraction to minors, which is in line with the studies on pedophilia in the general population. 

The Stranger spoke with a Seattle resident "Smook," who said that this is his way to "reclaim his childhood."

Sue McGarvie is a "kink-aware" sex therapist who regularly sees AB/DL clients and has a series of questions she asks to make sure that patients are not pedophiles.

McGarvie claimed that you can tell very quickly which AB/DL members are offenders and said, "The offenders, you can tell very quickly."

"They’ll be in your office for 15 minutes and they’ll be blaming everybody else. The victims tend to blame themselves," she added.

The act of an adult wearing a diaper has grown into a "kink" category. In 2022 an "Age Play" convention in Chicago hosted over 1,000 people and Smook pointed out that his local chat group in Seattle has grown to "more than 300" members. 

According to the Stranger, more "safe spaces" are appearing in some areas while disappearing in others and the outlet pointed to a shop in Indiana that was shut down because it didn’t "meet the Morals of the city."