Publicity is a difficult topic. The best way for it to happen would be for some pop idol to bring it into focus without shame but also in such a way that is difficult to criticise and which would allow the positive side to get proper attention. The stigma must go if any of us are to stop living in perpetual fear of being ‘caught out’ on something so utterly harmless and in fact beneficial

BDSM had people like Betty Page to bring the subculture into the public eye and let everyone know that it wasn’t just gross old guys in dungeons, and that it could be fun, sexy, and tasteful. If some sexy young model or pop star came out publicly as ABDL and did a shoot in playboy or Esquire with Little Girl themes that had even a single diapered picture, you can bet that diapers and ageplay would be the new bondage.

Unfortunately, the contradictions that Lou was (not very tactfully) bringing forth are grounded in a very real issue in the community, one which will have to be addressed before ABDL subculture will be ready to “go public.” That issue is the almost inseparable notions of shame and humiliation associated with diapers. We have got to have people out there who are willing to do some careful thinking, to find ways of making the general public ABDL-aware so that people who discover that they are ABDL don’t feel like it’s a good idea to closet themselves so severely they won’t even fill out a profile. That’s going to mean risking shame for a lot of us. The community can’t remain faceless forever.

Now, I don’t show my (entire) face on my blog, but I come damn close. Close enough to where people who know me would probably recognize me if they somehow found their way to my site. That person would have to be surfing a diaper site to find it though … and that’s not likely unless they are also ABDL. But this really isn’t about convincing everyone who wants to mean something to the community to show their face all over the internet. In all honesty, I’m not even sure how much that would help. What the community really needs is someone young, attractive, and loaded with crossmarket-appeal who will be willing to not only show their face to our community, but to the world at large.

Once there are a few brave souls putting themselves into the public eye while laying down the dogma for people who aren’t in the know, (we’re not pedophiles, we play at a range of ages including adult, etc.) more people are going to start finding their way to the community with a greater willingness to participate constructively. Reaching out to the BDSM community would probably be a good first step, including making a bigger showing a BDSM events with higher ABDL turnout, ageplay/diaper scenes and seminars, things like that. BDSMers are generally more accepting of alternative lifestyle choices than anyone else.

Personally, I try to keep a blog that non-ABDL people won’t be scared off by if they were to come across it. Adrian does a great job of this too; iheartdiapers.com is probably the first site I would show to someone who had no prior knowledge of the ABDL subculture. Something else I’ve done that I think might stand a good chance of helping the community is writing a feature film with some LG elements in it which I fully intend to get made once I’ve graduated from the New York School of Visual Arts, where I am studying directing. I might even casually out myself if I get any questions in that direction following the film’s release, assuming that the critical reception is good enough to where it won’t be likely to hurt my career. In any case, there are a lot of ways to help the community become more public … people are just going to have to organize and make a business plan before that can happen.

It doesn’t liberate the community as such, but we got it, on the list of accepted kinks, which you would normally not talk about anyway. After all, what do we as a community want, from society?

Thanks for posting the email address. I’m going to create an address for the same purpose, and when I do I’ll shoot you a message. I had a very interesting (enlightening?) experience yesterday that really affirmed our discussion. Adrian, if you are reading this, we would love your feedback. I think I speak for everyone when I say that your comment responses are almost more valuable than your posts. I ran a blog for a while and I do understand the time committment, but if at all possible I would love your feedback. Thanks for all you do!