Ageplay is when an adult takes on the role of a child. This may be sexual (the roleplaying of a child/adult relationship in sex, which may be a sexual fetish and is often grouped within BDSM) or be purely regressive (in order to re-experience childhood in a non-sexual sense).
Due to the sensitive nature of its subject matter, roleplaying adult/child scenarios sexually is controversial as it can arouse concern in many peoples minds. However as with other sexual fantasy it is not necessarily a problem, and can be for some like any fantasy an exploration of different roles and feelings, and for others a healthy or healing outlet.
Ageplay roles range from infanthood to adolescence, and some ageplayers may identify with more than one age, taking on different ageplay roles at different times. Differing types of ageplay may be referred to in the following ways:
The term ageplay can be used as a standard roleplay term, but generally ageplay is a form of emotional regression. Some enjoy ageplay because they feel a need to express a childlike side, others may feel they are of a psychological age younger than their physical age, and some have dissociative child personalities (see dissociative identity disorder). Many people consider their "inner child" a very real part of them.
Ageplay may be as simple as time spent alone pursuing "childlike" activities such as playing games or watching cartoons, or as complex as an entire lifestyle built around living as a child, with a guardian, to the fullest extent possible. When in role, a regressive ageplayer will often feel and react like a real child. For some it may feel upsetting or even emotionally damaging to be treated as an adult when in their child role or headspace (a term sometimes used to indicate when someone is fully immersed in their child role).
A child personality may be referred to as a little to differentiate from the adult persona (big or bigperson). The internet provides a rich source of community for ageplayers, who usually seek a guardian or other "littles" to play with, and there are many online ageplaying communities.
Regressive ageplay may be linked to inner child therapy, the concept of which is to connect with one's childhood feelings in order to deal with trauma experienced in childhood. It has seen increased popularity in recent years and some areas may have ageplay groups or "inner child workshops" where adults can explore these themes in a safe environment.
Sexual Ageplay is a type of sexual roleplay which, because of its dominance and submission aspects, is considered a form of BDSM. It may be referred to as edgeplay because of its level of social acceptability; such roleplay may involve (fictional) incest, and a common reaction is to associate child roleplaying in a sexual situation with pedophilia. Most sexual ageplayers resent any association with pedophilia, and claim that neither party is encouraged to believe there is a real child involved, and that it involves two consenting adults with one expressing the assumed emotional vulnerability of a child.
In sexual ageplaying, the dominant generally plays the role of some form of a guardian/authority figure (teacher, doctor, parent, etc). Ageplay can also be bratplay in which the "child" is disobedient and bratty, and puts up verbal or physical resistance. (In such play, a safeword is even more important.)
Ageplay practices, though not often applied to children nowadays, were commonplace some decades ago, and remain common in submission and humiliation fantasy.they may include: