Editing Ageplay

{{Short description|Roleplay involving acting as a different age}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2010}}

'''Ageplay''' or '''age play''' is a form of [[roleplay]]ing in which an individual acts or treats another as if they are a different age. Ageplay is roleplaying between adults, and involves consent from all parties. Ageplay is not always [[Sexual roleplay|sexual]]. Portraying any age can be the goal of ageplay, from [[Infant|babies]] to a [[child]] to the [[elderly]]. Usually this involves someone pretending to be younger than they actually are, but more rarely can involve assuming an older role.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Holiday |first1=Sybil |last2=Henkin |first2=Bill |last3=Henkin |first3=William A. |title=Consensual Sadomasochism: How to Talk About It and How to Do It Safely |publisher=Daedalus Publishing Company |location=San Francisco |year=1996 |page=60 |isbn=978-1-881943-12-9 |oclc=39923440}}</ref><!--https://books.google.com/books?id=M1fqbvsfMRcC&pg=PA60-->

==Characteristics and variations==
Ageplay is a form of roleplay between one or more consenting adults.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bauer |first=Robin |date=2021 |title=Queering consent: Negotiating critical consent in les-bi-trans-queer BDSM contexts |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460720973902 |journal=Sexualities |language=en |volume=24 |issue=5–6 |pages=767–783 |doi=10.1177/1363460720973902 |s2cid=229433950 |issn=1363-4607}}</ref> Within [[Dominance and submission|dominant/submissive relationships]], ageplay can enhance power dynamics, and allow a partner to feel more comfortable with their dominance or submission.

A common myth is that caregiver dynamics (caregiver/little, daddy/little, mommy/little) all involve ageplay. However, these dynamics are more about caring for one another than re-enacting an incest fantasy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caregiving Dynamics and DDlg/CGl |url=https://kynk101.com/kink-bdsm-facts/caregivers-ddlg |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=KYNK 101 |language=en-US}}</ref> Research shows that there is an interest in this kind of "intergenerational play" that is distinct from incest—or kinship—play.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Bauer |first=Robin |date=2018 |title=Bois and grrrls meet their daddies and mommies on gender playgrounds: Gendered age play in the les-bi-trans-queer BDSM communities |journal=Sexualities |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1–2 |pages=139–155 |doi=10.1177/1363460716676987 |issn=1363-4607|doi-access=free }}</ref>

According to forensic psychologist Annil Aggrawal, ageplay is not related to pedophilia or any form of sex abuse.<ref>{{Harvp|Aggrawal|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uNkNhPZQprcC&pg=PA147 147]}}</ref> Individuals who engage in ageplay are consenting adults who enjoy imagining or portraying themselves as children, or merely enjoy childlike elements typical of children present in [[adult]]s.

===Paraphilic infantilism===
{{Main|Paraphilic infantilism}}

Paraphilic infantilism, colloquially known as "adult baby" play, is a specific form of ageplay which involves one or more consenting adults role-playing an age regression to an infant-like state. "Adult baby" play can be an expression of a fetish (or, more accurately, [[paraphilia]]) or simply as a non-sexual form of recreational adult role-play. 

Behaviors may include things such as wearing childish clothes, wearing or using [[Diaper|diapers]], cuddling with [[Stuffed toy|stuffed animals]], drinking from a [[Baby bottle|bottle]] or sucking on a [[pacifier]], and (when done with others) engaging in gentle and nurturing experiences, [[baby talk]], or [[BDSM]] power dynamics involving [[Sadomasochism|masochism]], coercion, punishment or humiliation. People who participate in paraphilic infantilism are often referred to as "adult babies" or "ABs".

Though distinct, within the [[Kink (sexuality)|kink]] community paraphilic infantilism is often associated with [[diaper fetishism]] under the umbrella term, "adult baby/diaper lover" or "AB/DL".

Some research has aimed to separate ageplay from the pathologized framing of paraphilic infantilism, noting in part that paraphilic infantilism is not listed within the DSM-V.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tiidenberg |first1=Katrin |last2=Paasonen |first2=Susanna |date=2019-06-01 |title=Littles: Affects and Aesthetics in Sexual Age-Play |journal=Sexuality & Culture |language=en |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=375–393 |doi=10.1007/s12119-018-09580-5 |issn=1936-4822|doi-access=free }}</ref> This research also discourages thinking of ageplay in terms of discrete pathologized identity categories, but rather as a spectrum of intersecting identities, behaviors, and/or power dynamics.

==Ageplay events==
Specific conventions and major events have formed that specifically cater to ageplayers including:

* CAPCon (2010–present) a convention that occurs annually at a hotel in the Chicago, Illinois area of the United States<ref>{{Cite web|title=CAPCon|url=https://www.capcon.club/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=CAPCon|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Camp Abdulia (2012–2018) a gathering that occurred sporadically throughout various cities and states in the United States
* TOMKAT (2013–present) a gathering that occurs bi-annually at a private wilderness camp in Ontario, Canada<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://tomkatcamp.ca/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=Home|language=en-CA}}</ref>
* TeddyCon (2014–2019) a convention that occurred annually at a hotel near Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States<ref>{{Cite web|title=TeddyCon - Home|url=http://teddycon.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504072149/http://teddycon.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 4, 2014|access-date=2021-02-19|website=teddycon.org}}</ref>
* West Coast Jungle Gym (2019–2021) a convention that occurred annually at a hotel in San Diego, California area of the United States<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gym|first=The West Coast Jungle|title=HOME|url=https://thewestcoastjunglegym.com/home|access-date=2021-02-19|website=The West Coast Jungle Gym|language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
* [[Adult baby]]
* [[Diaper lover]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

* {{cite book |last=Aggrawal |first=Anil |author-link=Anil Aggrawal |title=Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects |year=2009 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton |isbn=978-1-4200-4308-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Rulof |first=Paul |title=Ageplay: From Diapers to Diplomas |year=2011 |publisher=Nazca Plains |location=Las Vegas |isbn=978-1-61098-190-3}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{BDSM}}
{{Sex fetish}}

[[Category:Sexuality and age]]
[[Category:ABDL]]