It's a collective name -
fairly widely recognized, but not universally so - for people who are attracted
to amputees. It has been applied to people who are attracted to other forms of
mobility-impaired people, such as paraplegics, or brace wearers (Muscular
Dystrophy, Polio, etc.). They are sometimes called 'hobbyists',
although that term is less used. They have also been called 'ameliotatists' (or
AMT's) by the clinical types.
I have not known about
them for very long, myself. It was only through having a website that I even
knew they existed. I found a website that offers a lot more information on the
subject than what I will be including on my page. I only wanted to give a
definition, my personal feelings, and let you go from there. I gathered the
information I learned from several websites.
If you visit this site
and go to the Frequently Asked Questions page you can learn much more about
these people.
You who are devotees will probably be disappointed in my site...it's not what you think. That's not
why
I'm here. I will not participate in any fantasy-fest! I am not so pathetic and
lonely and desperate that I thrive on your attention...it's not needed by me,
it's not wanted by me, I am not flattered by it. You need someone a LOT more
insecure than me. You will not ever see a photo of me without my legs on
for your personal entertainment....and I will never send you one... so don't
bother to ask me...it'll never happen. Do not attempt to contact me for any
reason. All you want are 'games and mystery' and to have your
questions answered. You just 'troll' around on the site looking for
pictures of amputees with no legs or arms, or whatever your special interest may
be.
When I first raised my
website I was bombarded with horrible emails and offers to take pictures of my
legs. So, I am understandably put off by devotees.
An Analogy
How do you think you'd feel if you had a
full set of dentures....and you were modest about it...wanted it kept
private.... and what if you found out that there were a bunch of folks out there
who were really, really interested in the fact that you wore dentures? What if
they sought you out, followed you around, and even wanted to date you, all
because you had dentures, and it fascinated them.
What if you did go out with such a
person, and they couldn't get it out of their minds that you wore dentures...and
all they wanted to talk about was 'the dentures'...and maybe your gums? What if
they just couldn't get past that and see you as a person? What if they wanted
you to take your teeth out so they could look at your gums...or wanted pictures
of your gums? What if they wanted to feel them and look at the dentures? How
comfortable do you think you'd feel about all that? And what if you noticed that
they not only showed an interest in YOU with dentures, but with everyone else
who had them, too?
What if you learned that this person was visiting sites that
were built around 'denture sightings' and pictures of people with and without
their dentures in place? What if your conversations, sex, activities, and entire
life-style was built around this person's fascination with dentures? How do you
think that would make you feel?
And what if all you wanted to do
was to blend in with society and live your
life...not having all the focus and attention brought to your dentures, and yet
this huge group of people would love nothing better than to exploit something
that you felt more private about?
Maybe if you ponder that scenario, you
might have a little more of an understanding of how I feel about you and your
interest! It was the best analogy I could come up with.
And don't bother to write to me and tell
me that there are 'good ones' out there ....I know better. It's been
my personal experience that there are NOT any good ones out there. Think about
it...which one of you are going to read this and NOT think of themselves as 'one of the good ones'? I mean, even serial killers think that down
deep they are pretty good guys.....and so do rapists, child molesters, and bank
robbers.
So, stop taking it upon yourself to write to me and try to
convince me that there are 'good ones'....you have no idea what I have
had to go through that made me put up this very necessary page....all of them
told me that they were the 'good ones', too.....just leave me the hell
alone....GOT IT??
Personally, I'm
uncomfortable at the thoughts of being attractive to someone because I'm a
double amputee. Some may argue that it's no different than any other preference
that a person would have for any other attribute a woman may have...it is
different.
I have
also heard the stories of devotees being attracted to an amputee, who may feel
especially vulnerable, they gain her trust, and then the magic is gone and they are
on their way to find another . This can be especially devastating to people who
have been through a recent amputation. And there are also devotees who carry on
'cyber relationships' with several amputees....having a string of
women to be entertained by, neither of them knowing of the others. Devotees are
never, ever satisfied with one amputee.
I know this can be common
with most people and from either sex...but I have a soft-spot for amputees who
are exploited the way many devotees exploit them.
I am not
trying to pass judgment on devotees...'to each his own'...but I don't want
any part of it. I do not wish to be exploited over the fact that I was born with
a birth defect. I am a whole person....not just residual limbs...and I don't
care to hear from these people. I am sure that there are nice devotees, but who
can tell? I don't care if it's a woman who is blonde, red-head, large- breasted,
or an amputee, I have always been offended that a person is not appreciated for
being a person...an entire person.
And
I know that there are many devotees that continue to visit my site...there's
nothing I can really do about that...just don't attempt to contact me. But since
you do insist on coming back, and I know you do..... here's your very
own fast URL...I got this for the 'fan club'! Just please leave me alone.
I raised a page recently
called 'Having
Children'....and here is why.....
I
was inspired to write this page because of what happened to me in the fall of
2001. Just before my cable company went bankrupt and my website disappeared, a website that is dedicated to
making fun of other websites had featured my site for about a week.
These supposedly grown adults
shredded my site.....made fun of my legs, my husband, the name of my website,
and they even discussed that I should have had a set of 'hemostats' rammed into
the back of my neck at birth.......that people like me should have never been
born.
This
one girl, who finds the sites for these jackals to shred, had set my site up to be
mocked and ridiculed. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I wouldn't have
known about it, at least at first, except that I have site trackers on my
website so I can monitor my standing on the search engines.
Anyway, one night,
just before bed, I checked my stats and saw that I had over 800 visitors to my
site in one day. I knew something was going on, so I followed the link from my
tracker and it led me to that vicious place.
I
was stunned at what I was reading. There was nothing about my site that these
people weren't making fun of. You name it, they were making jokes about it. I
hadn't seen this kind of viciousness and name calling since my school days. They
had even taken pictures from my site and doctored them up to portray my husband
and I in various situations.
So,
naturally, I went in there and defended myself. I didn't expect to change their minds about
anything, but I was angry and I had a few things to say. I have worked very hard
on my site, and in my life, and these people totally dismissed everything
that I am and they said I had no right to live.......that I should have been killed
at birth.
The
girl who originally posted my site came in and posted her own comment, after I
had written a scathing email to her. She told everyone there that she had
originally posted my site because she saw the 'devotees' as 'evil'...however, it
all backfired on her and they turned their attentions on 'me'..... "I"
was the 'evil' one...... "I" should have not been allowed to live. She
did tell the people there to back off of me, but they actually became worse
towards me.
Upon
reading her comment, I went in and defended that at least the 'devotees' had never
given me the grief that these particular people did....that neither me nor the
devotees were evil, but that they themselves were the evil, cruel,
vicious ones.
I'm
not putting a link to their site here, and I'm not going to mention the name of
their site......I'm not about to give them any credit
or visitors.
I
may not want the attention of devotees, but at least I'm pretty much left alone
and not subjected to the cruelty that 'some' folks enjoy inflicting on
others...and for that, I'm grateful.
