Population
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A distinction has to be drawn between people who feel some sex-tinged fascination with disability on the one hand, and aware members of the DPW subculture on the other (also see Behaviour below).
In 1976, Ampix, a company selling DPW pornography, had a clientele of about 300. A decade later, Fascination, a DPW community quarterly publication, had a circulation of under 1000. As the world-wide web began rolling-out a decade hence, DPWs in dedicated fora numbered under 10,000. By 2006, the world devotee community comprised up to 100,000 members of several hundred internet fora. Duplication/multiplication of memberships, dead memberships, and the probable 'grey zone' of under-motivated, merely curious or accidental forum members would indicate that there were anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 DPWs worldwide in 2006.
By sex, it is consistently reported that over 90 per cent of DPWs are male. Women attracted to disability may view their feelings as romantic rather than sex-centred, be disheartened by male domination of the DPW scene, or just generally find porn and/or public discussion of sexual issues less gratifying then men.
By sexual orientation, the share of homosexual and bisexual DPWs appears identical to that in the general population, implying a dominant heterosexual interest. There are indications, however, that some heterosexual DPWs may be attracted to members of their own sex with their preferred disability. This ambivalence may be more common among female DPWs. There are also indications that where the "first sighting" involved a person of the same sex, the future DPW may grow up homosexual.
By age, the acknowledgement of the attraction may occur from pre-puberty onwards, with today's DPWs discovering the subculture in their teens.
By educational and career attainment, The Amelotatist reported a high proportion of highly educated and successful people among its sample of 195. This was confirmed by Nattress (1996), all of whose 50 subjects had completed higher education and pursued careers. This may indicate greater than average DPW susceptibility to parental and peer pressures.
By geography, in 2006 DPW fora membership indicated one or fewer DPWs per million inhabitants in some countries, with a mean of 5 to 8 a million, and peaks of 30 to 50 a million. North America and Western Europe had most DPWs, followed by the former USSR, eastern China, Japan, Australia, Southern Africa and the rest of the world. Southern Asia and Africa appear to have none or extremely few DPWs. Differing levels of internet access are clearly at play, though the spread also reflects national, cultural, class, lifestyle and period factors, and parent-child and peer relationship paradigms.
DPWs appear to fall into two groups: most think they are unique; while some assume the attraction is universal and are disappointed to find it confined to very few others.
Read more about this topic: Attraction To Disability
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