Labels and the ABDL Community

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kik91

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  1. Adult Baby
  2. Diaper Lover
Hey guys, I don't know if anyone recalls, but I do. If we go back around 12 years ago, the ABDL community was very simple actually. There were just three identifying labels, which were Teen Baby (TB), Adult Baby (AB) and Diaper Lover (DL).

Back then, the lifestyle of being a baby was, at least to my young eyes, very non-sexual. It was all about regressing and being innocent.

Now, there are a wide variety of new labels that I still have trouble adjusting: Little Boy/Girl, Diaperfur, Babyfur, Daddy/Mommy Dom and Sissies.

While I don't have problems with any of them, I still don't feel like I'm getting used to them. And there is one that does cause me noise: Daddy/Mommy Dom and Baby Sub.

I gather that "Dom" stands for dominate and "Sub" as submissive.

Those sounds very sex/kink oriented. I guess I'll have to get used to those labels, but it's kind of weird for me to give ABDL such a sexual connotation when for me personally is more of a lifestyle.

Anyhow, thoughts?
 
The times they are a changin'?

I don't feel like people are becoming more sexual, just that the ones who aren't as sexual aren't as vocal about it as the ones who see it as a 'sexy time kink'. There were always those who were sexual, but they used to tend to call themselves "DL" and not "AB". Seeing someone label themselves as "AB" and then proclaim how sexy it was was a rarity, or at least it felt like it.

I think everyone is trying to come up with more 'alphabet soup' so they can make their own special compartments...Like they need a box that has a label that says "Kinky sexy baby sub into extreme diapers!" While the 'innocents' like me have a box, too, it's just that I'm just sitting in the cardboard box from the washing machine and going "WOOOSH! I'MMA GO TO THE MOOOON!"

Maybe yet another label, huh? If you AREN'T kinky you slap that "Innocent" on yourself? (Or maybe, you know, just tell any kinkster who gets a little out of hand to kindly stick a diaper on their heads. :laugh:)
 
It's funny to read that because my experience going back 27 years of searching was that it was very sexual and gradually the non-sexual folks made their presence known. I don't doubt they always existed but way back when, I didn't see anyone with the now familiar refrain of "It's not sexual foe everyone."

Also worth noting it was often "intantilist" the further back you go, as well as things that turned up in searches of "adult diapers".
 
Trevor said:
It's funny to read that because my experience going back 27 years of searching was that it was very sexual and gradually the non-sexual folks made their presence known. I don't doubt they always existed but way back when, I didn't see anyone with the now familiar refrain of "It's not sexual foe everyone."

Interesting. Thanks for that input!

To be honest, whether it is sexual or non-sexual for me is okay. To each their own. The point of the thread is the growing number of labels! Gosh, there are so many! XD
 
kik91 said:
Interesting. Thanks for that input!

To be honest, whether it is sexual or non-sexual for me is okay. To each their own. The point of the thread is the growing number of labels! Gosh, there are so many! XD

I agree, it's interesting. I've met a few 60 and 70 somethings at parties and I've rarely gotten to pick their brains for their experiences to my full satisfaction.
 
*gets a label making gun*

HANDS UP EVERYONE. You're gettin' a label.

*puts poorly spelled labels on everyone in sight*

That's kinda interesting, Trevor. I don't go back that far, so I could only speak from what I was seeing when I first showed up. :laugh: There were a lot of us then who were more vocal about it, I suppose. I think it might come and go in spells. Where the non-kinksters are quiet about it for a while and then they get riled up and make sure to let everyone know again.

That being said, I haven't really had anybody get too out of hand. Some folks have gotten a bit...um...enthusiastic when describing their love for diapers, but that's more or less just me mentally going "EGH. TMI, maaaaan!" And less going "You degenerate creepo!" Kinda the same reaction I have at work when someone gets too into describing the interesting thing that their SO did in bed the night before. :laugh:

PS: Which has, in fact, led to some hilarious work-specific 'memes'. Such as shouting "SNARF!" at the top of your lungs. XD Long story short: Guy was getting down to business and screamed SNARF at his wife when business concluded. Now every time we see him we'll scream it at him. Or when things are going terribly wrong you might find an 'old timer' saying "We're gonna get SMURFED in the SNARFHOLE tonight." (Smurf, as you may have concluded gets injected into sentences whenever higher ups might be around. Can't get in trouble for saying bad words when the only thing coming out of your mouth is "SMURF THIS! SMURF IT ALL TO SMURF!"
 
I think it can be pretty complex, especially since it seems the number of ways people want to be labelled are growing (and it's not just with our community), but I think in the end most of us are probably still somewhere closer to either AB or DL, or maybe some kind of mixture or both or in-between, and then of course there are those that are more into being the Caretaker/Big (whatever category they may fall under) rather than the Baby/Little.
 
People just like labels. Like you are not a kinkster (sexual about what you are into) so you make up your own label like "age regresser" or "little" because it's not sexual for you, it's about your personality and you childish interests.

You are a furry and like diapers, oh diaperfur.

Oh you are a guy who likes to be a baby girl but you have no desire to be an actual female and transition and actually live as a woman so sissy you are.
 
CuddleWoozle said:
*gets a label making gun*

HANDS UP EVERYONE. You're gettin' a label.

*puts poorly spelled labels on everyone in sight*
That's actually a good idea. There are portions of the population that go unnoticed and don't receive the respect the rest of us take for granted simply because they have no label. For example, not everyone uses diapers. There really are people who use toilets. Solution: Label them as TUs (toilet users). And it wouldn't be right to lump all TUs into a single category because, believe or not, toilet use is not sexual for everyone. We need to be able to distinguish between TUs and TLs (toilet lovers). TUs get understandably offended when people just assume it is a kink for everyone.

While we are on the subject of kink, it would be a good time to reexamine how we use this label in light of the growing awareness of the number of variations out there. One label is just not adequate to express the range of sexual emotions involved. For a more nuanced approach "kink" could be divided into subsets such as "wrinkle", "crease", "bend", or what have you. That way, if someone says they are DDABDLTU with a wrinkle, we would all know exactly what that means.

:smile:
Sorry. I have LAD (Label Aversion Disorder).
 
Drifter said:
That's actually a good idea. There are portions of the population that go unnoticed and don't receive the respect the rest of us take for granted simply because they have no label. For example, not everyone uses diapers. There really are people who use toilets. Solution: Label them as TUs (toilet users). And it wouldn't be right to lump all TUs into a single category because, believe or not, toilet use is not sexual for everyone. We need to be able to distinguish between TUs and TLs (toilet lovers). TUs get understandably offended when people just assume it is a kink for everyone.

While we are on the subject of kink, it would be a good time to reexamine how we use this label in light of the growing awareness of the number of variations out there. One label is just not adequate to express the range of sexual emotions involved. For a more nuanced approach "kink" could be divided into subsets such as "wrinkle", "crease", "bend", or what have you. That way, if someone says they are DDABDLTU with a wrinkle, we would all know exactly what that means.

:smile:
Sorry. I have LAB (Label Aversion Disorder).

Hahaha that’s so funny!
 
Probably something to do with being an Aspie, but I like having a neat label to put on things. It keeps my brain from being too disorganized so I can follow what's going on. When I found mine—Little, DL, and if we're being honest Brat Sub—I was almost relieved. My identities were a Thing. They made sense. Labels help people make sense of the world.
 
I prefer "ageplayer" and "little" because I feel like the phrase "adult baby" is intimidating to layfolk. It is typically nonsexual for me and it bugs me to label/identify with the phrse "baby" because I so directly relate it to actual children ... its a mentality that developed after I had my own kiddos.
I'm not sure if that makes sense how I explained it though
 
When I got caught with my "stuff" by my mom in 1970, I had to see a psychiatrist and the label was "infantalism". I was mortified anyway, and having a label of infantile didn't help it any. Ironically, the label may be accurate, but it didn't help my sense of self image and self worth.
 
kik91 said:
Hey guys, I don't know if anyone recalls, but I do. If we go back around 12 years ago, the ABDL community was very simple actually. There were just three identifying labels, which were Teen Baby (TB), Adult Baby (AB) and Diaper Lover (DL).

Back then, the lifestyle of being a baby was, at least to my young eyes, very non-sexual. It was all about regressing and being innocent.

Now, there are a wide variety of new labels that I still have trouble adjusting: Little Boy/Girl, Diaperfur, Babyfur, Daddy/Mommy Dom and Sissies.

While I don't have problems with any of them, I still don't feel like I'm getting used to them. And there is one that does cause me noise: Daddy/Mommy Dom and Baby Sub.

I gather that "Dom" stands for dominate and "Sub" as submissive.

Those sounds very sex/kink oriented. I guess I'll have to get used to those labels, but it's kind of weird for me to give ABDL such a sexual connotation when for me personally is more of a lifestyle.

Anyhow, thoughts?

You are correct, the original labels have not changed. They are very much still non sexual, so you've got that part right. As mentioned though, our "little" community has been changing and dare I say growing big. Bad puns aside, the abdl community definitely holds a sub set who very much find diapers to be a sexual fetish or kink.

I had tried to give them the appropriate label of SD so nobody would confuse loving something as if it were the same as having a sexual attraction to it. However, I was overruled on that and told to drop it. (Admins take note, I am not pushing this only stating the past). Unfortunately that means the confusion will just continue. Exactly what label we are to call a diaper fetish I have no idea, but you are definitely not alone in feeling wierded out by it.

And for the label nay sayers. I meerely repeat that rose called "stink weed of instant death" most certainly will make it smell different. Still not convinced, then by all means find a steam pipe labeled hot, grab hold of it, and tell me that label didn't matter. And while I agree a label should never define who you are, who you are does still need to be accurately described so others can understand you too.
 
The topic of labels is very interesting to me. I understand that some people might feel validated by having a label, but that same label can also become confining. Labels by their very nature set something or someone apart as different, and typically imply that the thing/person so categorized is immutably that thing forever and always. From what I've been able to learn about sexuality and fetishes, however, things aren't always quite so cut and dried. Someone who feels like a non-sexual AB today might in ten years have developed an interest in sissification, or a DL might discover that for whatever reason they now want to combine bondage and discipline with diapers. Therefore, I don't like to categorize myself except by using a couple of broad and interrelated terms like "kinky", "ABDL", or "ageplay." Ultimately, it all feels like a great big lovely buffet of kinkiness, where everyone can just mix and match, experimenting to see what tastes best to them at any particular time.

One other related point about the value of labels, though, is that they are often valuable indicators by which to measure interest in something--for instance, in online searches. Try using Google Trends sometime to see how the worldwide popularity of key terms has shifted over time since 2004--like this:
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=ABDL,ageplay,DDLG,adult%20baby,diaper%20fetish

I think it's very interesting to see the gradual decline in the term "adult baby", the modest rise in "ABDL", and the sudden and explosive rise of "DDLG" starting in late 2014. What the causes for these trends might be is up for discussion!
 
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