[6] A decade on, others argue that erotic target location error is at play, classifying the attraction as an identity disorder.
[5][7] In the standard psychiatric reference Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, text revision (DSM-IV-tr), the fetish falls under the general category of "Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders" and the more specific category of paraphilia, or sexual fetishes;[8] this classification is preserved in DSM-5.
Accordingly, Bruno (1997) considers those affected by versions of the paraphilia under the broad heading of Devotees, Pretenders, and Wannabes (DPWs), as used here.
Those attracted often cherish early memories of a sexuoerotic tragedy (a "first sighting") involving an object of their future attention, often an older member of the opposite sex, as stereotypical in paraphilic etiology.
Some people with disabilities willingly participate in the fetish subculture, for example, contributing model photos (e.g., Debbie van der Putten).
Although it is not common knowledge within mainstream communities, the internet has revolutionized the process by which DPWs can meet each other while pursuing meaningful relationships.
Devotee pornography tends to display the appearance of disability across a range of activities rather than focus on sexual situations.
[citation needed] A 2005 straw poll in two DPW fora revealed that in childhood many respondents (often first or only children) felt alienated from peers, forming solitary interests in inter alia, transportation, or collecting.
[citation needed] These feelings may indicate that empathy with disabled people, subject to exclusion in most cultures, is among the motivations for the attraction.
It may also indicate that admiration is at play in the attraction, in as much as disabled people per force overcome inhibitions similar to those many DPWs face, as hinted above.