A disability pretender is
subculture term meaning a person who behaves as if they were disabled. It may be classified as a type of
factitious disorder
A factitious disorder is a condition in which a person, ''without'' a malingering motive, acts as if they have an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms, purely to attain (for themselves or for another) a patient' ...
or as a
medical fetishism
Medical fetishism refers to a number of sexual fetishes in which participants derive sexual pleasure from medical scenarios including objects, practices, environments, and situations of a medical or clinical nature. In sexual roleplay, a hospital ...
.
One theory is that pretenders may be the "missing link" between devotees and wannabes, demonstrating an assumed continuum between those merely
attracted to people with disabilities and those who actively wish to become disabled. Many wannabes use pretending as a way to appease the intense emotional pain related to having
body integrity identity disorder
Body integrity dysphoria (BID, also referred to as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder and xenomelia, formerly called apotemnophilia) is a mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disabil ...
.
Pretending takes a variety of forms. Some
chatroom
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
users on internet sites catering to devotees have complained that chat counterparts they assumed were female were revealed as male devotees. This form of pretending (where a devotee derives pleasure by pretending to be a disabled woman) may indicate a very broad predisposition to pretending among devotees.
Pretending includes dressing and acting in ways typical of disabled people, including making use of aids (
glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples ...
,
hearing aids
A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers su ...
,
braces,
cane
Cane or caning may refer to:
*Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking
* Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance
*White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...
s,
inhalers,
walking sticks
A walking stick or walking cane is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense.
Walking sti ...
,
crutches
A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities.
History
Crutc ...
,
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
s,
mobility scooters
A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mo ...
,
white cane
A white cane is a device used by many people who are blind or visually impaired. A white cane primarily allows its user to scan their surroundings for obstacles or orientation marks, but is also helpful for onlookers in identifying the user as b ...
s etc.). Pretending may also take the form of a devotee persuading his or her sexual partner to play the role of a disabled person. Pretending may be practised in private, in intimacy, or in public, and may occupy surprisingly long periods. In the latter case, some pretenders hope that the disability may become permanent, such as through tissue
necrosis caused by constricted blood supply.
People with this condition may refer to themselves as "transabled".
See also
*
Abasiophilia Abasiophilia is a psychosexual attraction to people with impaired mobility, especially those who use orthopaedic appliances such as leg braces, orthopedic casts, or wheelchairs. The term abasiophilia was first used by John Money of the Johns Hopkin ...
—the desire for people who limp and/or use leg braces, walking sticks, crutches, walkers or wheelchairs
*
Acrotomophilia Acrotomophilia (from the Greek "having the top cut off" (from ' "extremity" and - from ' "I cut") and ' "love") is a paraphilia in which an individual expresses strong sexual interest ''in'' amputees. It is a counterpart to ''apotemnophilia'', ...
—the desire for amputees
*
Andy Pipkin
Lou Todd and Andy Pipkin are fictional characters from the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'', played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas respectively. Andy's catchphrases include, "Yeah I know", "Want that one" and "(I) Don't like it", ...
, a character from ''
Little Britain'', who pretends to be disabled
*
Apotemnophilia
Body integrity dysphoria (BID, also referred to as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder and xenomelia, formerly called apotemnophilia) is a mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disabil ...
—sexual arousal based on the desire to be or appear as an amputee
*
Attraction to disability
Attraction to disability is a sexualised interest in the appearance, sensation and experience of disability. It may extend from normal human sexuality into a type of sexual fetishism. Sexologically, the pathological end of the attraction tends t ...
—the broad range of sexualised fascinations projected onto disabled people
*
Disability devotee
Attraction to disability is a sexualised interest in the appearance, sensation and experience of disability. It may extend from normal human sexuality into a type of sexual fetishism. Sexologically, the pathological end of the attraction tends t ...
("dev")—one who desires disabled partners
*
Medical fetishism
Medical fetishism refers to a number of sexual fetishes in which participants derive sexual pleasure from medical scenarios including objects, practices, environments, and situations of a medical or clinical nature. In sexual roleplay, a hospital ...
—a sexualised interest in observing medical practice and receiving medical treatment
*
Munchhausen's syndrome—individuals with this psychological disorder feign illness and/or
self-harm
*
Body integrity identity disorder
Body integrity dysphoria (BID, also referred to as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder and xenomelia, formerly called apotemnophilia) is a mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disabil ...
("transabled")—individuals with this disorder believe they should have an impairment; sometimes seen as analogous to
gender dysphoria
References
{{Reflist
Bruno, R. L., PhD, "Devotees, pretenders and wannabes: Two cases of Factitious Disability Disorder"''The Journal of Sexuality and Disability'', 1997, 15, pp. 243–260
this portal to the pretender web lists 12 pretender and three pretender/wannabe websites
Abnormal psychology
Disability