First post! Looking for community

[figuringitout]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post here! I am a 25 year old devotee into blindness. I have been for as long as I remember.

I finally took the plunge and got a fet life account, and was really disappointed. The blind devotee thread was only posted in a few times, and definitely wasn’t my vibe. Not saying there was anything wrong with it or the people there — i iust want something a little more wholesome, personally.

I’ve never had the chance to connect with a blind guy. While I’d be open to going to events and such to meet people IRL, most blind people at those seem to be a lot older — I’m not interested in meeting any men over 30 for anything, haha.

So— I’m at a point where I’m ready to explore my devness, but definitely feel setback a bit after fetlife wasn’t the experience I thought it’d be. Hoping this community helps me feel a little better!

Also, just a note: I’m happy for all the SCI/amputees devs on here, but that’s not something I’m personally into. I feel like SCI/amputee PWD/ devs are well represented on this site, so would love this thread to include comments from blindness devotees the most.

[ayla]

Welcome! And good for you, on several accounts: for being true to yourself, for seeking out community, and for bringing more diversity here. The name definitely tends to skew the group towards SCI. However, even many SCI/amputee devs have a secondary fondness for other disabilities. Speaking for myself here, I am always interested to hear about the dev experience no matter what the preference. It's fascinating!

[Dani]

Welcome to PD!
I agree with the above comment; diversity is definitely good. I know there are blindness devs here, and I know there is even a romance story out there written by a blindness dev.
I'm glad you signed on here, and even though you may find out more about SCI, hopefully, this will also bring out the blind guys and the blindness devs.

[devogirl]

Welcome! Lifelong dev of blind guys here, and I'm always glad when more of us sign up here. I'm doing my best to create devvy fiction and other content for the lovers of blind guys.

In answer to your question about where to meet young blind guys, adaptive sports are always the best bet. Is there a goalball team in your city, or a running or hiking club? Often these are based at universities even if members are not students. I've been listening to the Four Bad Eyes podcast lately, and the blind skateboarding community seems to be growing.

AlrightyAphrodite might have some suggestions also. I recall she mentioned a tour group where you can volunteer to take a trip with a blind companion.

And please don't feel bad about volunteering for these things. In my experience, adaptive sports and the like are always happy when people show an interest and want to help out. They will not grill you or question your motives. Remember that people always join organizations (church, clubs etc) because they think there might be someone there they want to date. It's not creepy or stalkerish.

Also it's a great idea to make friends with people in your local blind community. You never know who you might meet through friends of friends.

[ayla]

Excellent advice as usual from devogirl! I know in my city there is a popular program for blind runners that pairs them with sighted guides/running buddies. If I didn't hate running with the passion of a thousand suns I'd consider it!

[allisonsr]

Welcome! I think that the more public posters on this forum way skew older because it takes a while to reach the level of self-acceptance you have accomplished.

(Primarily) blindness dev here too. Welcome!

[clrnts]

Welcome! I hope you'll find what you're looking for. Very happy for you to see that you're ready to explore your devness. Good luck!