This evening, rnt and I were lucky enough to be joined on our front porch by three of our friends who happen to share our ABDL interests. As I sat, conversing with these four other magnificent souls, it struck me that there is a myth about ABDL folks that I believed as a young man which was wholly wrong, and the proof surrounded me on all sides… but I never named it. It’s time to do so, for my own sake if not others’.
ABDL folks are not stunted.
To my right sat one of my best friends in the world. He is an intellectual giant with an advanced degree and a seemingly endless compendium of knowledge at the ready. He is an emotionally mature man with deep loyalty to his friends, a healthy and ever-more connected relationship to his family, and a compassionate heart that knows no bounds. He works in the non-profit sector and gives his time and often his weekends to raise money for an issue that really matters.
To his right is a friend I have known for nearly seven years, and whose story gets richer and more amazing every year. He is polymathic, educated in healthcare *and* finance, and able to slip in between disciplines effortlessly. He is an entrepreneur who has assembled a remarkable business, and led both himself and others to very profitable careers. He is an adventurer, a hiker, an explorer, and a giver.
To his right sat his fiancé, a woman with a doctorate from an ivy-league institution who is dedicating her career to reform. She is adeptly conversant in music, art, politics, literature, history, and just about every topic we can seem to throw at her. She is fit, active, loving and beautiful, and leads future PhD candidates through the rigors of discovering their own mettle as they head out into the world.
And to her right sits my wife, the love of my life. She is an artist, a writer, an avid reader and the best poet I have ever known. My written word pales in comparison to hers, and I struggle to recall facts and literary tidbits that she can access with little thought. She is an intellectual, a lover, a devoted daughter, and an amazing mother to our child, and stunning.
ABDLs aren’t stunted or broken. We are every bit the mothers, brothers, bankers, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, baristas, lovers, poets, rabbis and doctors that you place your trust in, and it is duly so. We are humans, and we come with all of the glory, weirdness, complexity, fracture and beauty that humanity does… no more, no less. Are there people among us who have bigger issues than others? Of course. We contain our angels and our assholes like every group, and most of us take turns being each.
But stunted? For me, that myth is forever busted. I saw it again on my porch tonight, and I see at every party and gathering I go to. I hope you do too.
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
titsay
annaxmalina
vaporwave
pixelskylines
