Pretending when you were a child?

[Deleted]

Feb 25, 2022 21:21:06 GMT -5 lexidee said:

I'm brand new here, and never have "come out" so to speak. Bit finding all of you and knowing I'm not alone in this is pretty awesome.

That said, yes, I used to pretend when I was younger. I'd use sticks for crutches and pretend I couldn't walk without them, or put my Ken dolls in makeshift wheelchairs. I thought I was the only one doing this.

Your posts are part of what inspired me to join lexidee!

For as long as there were Barbies, there was a Ken in a wheelchair or a hack-saw taken to my little brother's G.I. Joe's legs.

This is my absolute first time coming out about this as well and it's never been a part of me that I've accepted or felt comfortable to share - although I haven't explored why, everyone is attracted to different body shapes and abilities, so how come I've deemed mine less than acceptable? Slowly exploring more parts of me, thanks to you all as well!

[lexidee]

Mar 7, 2022 12:35:49 GMT -5 @justmae said:

Feb 25, 2022 21:21:06 GMT -5 lexidee said:

Your posts are part of what inspired me to join lexidee!

For as long as there were Barbies, there was a Ken in a wheelchair or a hack-saw taken to my little brother's G.I. Joe's legs.

This is my absolute first time coming out about this as well and it's never been a part of me that I've accepted or felt comfortable to share - although I haven't explored why, everyone is attracted to different body shapes and abilities, so how come I've deemed mine less than acceptable? Slowly exploring more parts of me, thanks to you all as well!

Awe, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm so glad my story helped you take the next step!! Welcome to the group!

[em]

Jan 30, 2023 9:26:58 GMT -5 @lilyinblossom said:

It's fun because it's like a puzzle, the more you understand your devness the more you remember things/signs that have always been present in you life. Some silly things you have never give much importance. There was a character in a soap opera I watched when I was a child, she limped and the protagonist fell in love with her. I was around 8 or 9 but I do remember wearing a high heel on one only foot while the other was barefoot just to imitate the girl from the tv. Until today I'm not sure why I did that. Was it fun? Was it curiosity? Did I think I'd meet a guy like her did even limping, a prince charming? I think it's a mix of these three things.

Do you remember the name of the show?

[GabsDev]

I remember as a kid pretending a lot, since I was 4, I guess. When I started playing with Barbies, they are always unable to walk, wheelchairs for them didn't exist here in Brasil at that time, so I used to put them in strollers. I had a real size rag doll that I used to play like she has cerebral palsy, carrying her and putting her on diapers. I've always wondered what it would be like feeling nothing in my legs, and faked it a lot of times, and once I had surgery that needed spinal anesthesia, it was a powerful experience.

[ayla]

Nothing to add, I just love when this thread gets revived. It’s got some of the eeriest commonalities among devs!

[koala]

Mar 15, 2023 18:16:37 GMT -5 ayla said:

Nothing to add, I just love when this thread gets revived. It’s got some of the eeriest commonalities among devs!

I so agree. This is one of the first threads I read after finding this site, and it was beyond enlightening. Some of the similarities are almost impossible to believe. I had always felt so different and alone in my childhood experiences...until I learned that they were almost EXACTLY the same as so many others'.

[ayla]

The childhood stuff is what convinced me that devness is "a thing." It seems like it starts so young for all of us.

[eewee]

As a kid, I had Barbies- just like most girls. But the thing that made my play different was that I would disable them. I learned how to amputate limbs, would play as if someone was blind, etc. Is that devvy or what?

[tumeric]

As a newbie this thread is essential reading!!
I'm still trying to understand the intersection between my devness and pretending.
As a kid my mum was chronically ill, and disabled. There were a lot of hospital visits and lots of paraphernalia at home. I remember being obsessed with a soft neck brace and crutches when I started mssturbating.
I got caught "playing" with the crutches and a wheelchair all the time (not mssturbating!!) and I remember a grandparent telling me off for being weird. So I hid it until at university a gay friend of a friend broke his leg, and I became obsessed, until then I thought I was straight. ...go figure..

[junimo]

Every time I visit these boards, I’m always staggered by the commonalities among devs. Like many of you, I also remember going through a major pretending phase around 7-10 years old. I remember tucking one of my ankles into the back of my underwear and hopping around (the mental image now is hilarious). I don’t think I knew the word amputee and that’s not even one of my dev interests as an adult, but I was very fascinated by missing limbs as a kid. I would also play “teacher” with friends and I remember telling them my student had cerebral palsy and they were like WHAT and gave me the biggest WTF looks. This is when I started figuring out this part of me should be a “secret.”
I also had access to canes and crutches due to various mobility issues my dad experienced during my childhood.
Plus, My mom worked with kids with disabilities so I have very early memories of knowing about and being interested in all kids of physical differences and would work those into my imaginative play.
(And now after describing this, I’m realizing I probably check ALL of the female devotee stereotypes as a highly sensitive empath, recovering perfectionist, and a weird only child who had all the free time and latitude to be “imaginative” 😂)

[tujo]

Same with me. I remember walking around the neighborhood blindfolded with a cane (just a crooked wooden stick tho) trying to navigate with a friend guiding me in case. Didn't think about it further, I just found it to be an interesting experiment. My friend was probably too young to find it weird, or maybe he did haha..

[prrrowr]

Huh, I'm a weirdo by all communities' standards, I guess. 😥 I would play with my dolls / Barbies / stuffed animals and would pretend at least one of them was disabled, if not many. I would play with my disabled father's stuff, like his crutches, and even tried to put on his prosthetic leg, but that was mostly because they were around to play with, and it was hilarious to try to stand on beds (as a short kid) and walk with his tall prosthetic leg. Also, I'm not an only child - I'm one of 5 kids, and we would all do this - try to walk around with my dad's stuff, and die laughing when we fell over. We would even make up obstacle course style challenges for each other, like who can swing over the imaginary chasm the best, using one crutch like a pole vaulter, or two like a maniac. Our armpits would barely fit over the hand grip bar, and we would get a running start, and launch ourselves. 😂
I can honestly say I have never wanted to be disabled myself. But I've always been super attracted to other people who are, since I was 5yo. That's the youngest age I remember being attracted to anyone, period.

[newjess]

Sept 12, 2023 13:27:38 GMT -5 prrrowr said:

I would play with my disabled father's stuff, like his crutches, and even tried to put on his prosthetic leg, but that was mostly because they were around to play with, and it was hilarious to try to stand on beds (as a short kid) and walk with his tall prosthetic leg. Also, I'm not an only child - I'm one of 5 kids, and we would all do this - try to walk around with my dad's stuff, and die laughing when we fell over. We would even make up obstacle course style challenges for each other, like who can swing over the imaginary chasm the best, using one crutch like a pole vaulter, or two like a maniac. Our armpits would barely fit over the hand grip bar, and we would get a running start, and launch ourselves. 😂

omg, that is too funny. 100% sounds like what my brother and I would have done too 🤣🤣

[glowell80]

I’ve never done anything like this as a child, but reading all of these stories are extremely interesting, thank you all for being so open and honest.

[hjfundus]

Jun 9, 2013 2:28:34 GMT -5 finally said:

I guess as a child you just assume that disability is a bad thing because of what you see how AB people react to that whole subject.

I wonder how different our attraction would feel in a world free from ableism? Food for thought.