You may ask all those questions you have about pretending and pretenders, and Eddie will give his very personal answers as time permits. Simply mail to europretend@gmx.net.
And don´t bother to send abusive questions, ok? They will be trashed anyway.
Here you can find a selection of common questions. This page will grow when new questions/answers will be added.
What kinds of pretenders are there?
Most pretenders we know are using manual wheelchairs, legbraces, or pretend to be one-legged or one-armed.
To be of any use, the pretending has to look natural and convincing. This is very easy to achieve with wheelchairs and braces. Only a small range of amputations can be simulated successfully. There are some who wear arm hooks and peglegs, and others who use hearing aids, wear thick glasses or even dental braces.
We do not personally know of any pretenders owning their own electric wheelchairs (mostly for cost reasons), or any pretenders of severe CP or mental retardation. That does, naturally, not mean they do not exist.
We also distinguish between closet pretenders, who likes the idea but have rarely if ever tried, and active pretenders who have the special equipment they need, and are using it regularly at home or in public.
How many pretenders are out there?
Nobody knows exactly. Nevertheless, we had to adjust our originally estimations upwards, since we met several pretenders thru this site. In the meantime we have a good judgement but we do not give exact numbers here any more.
Let´s just say that it is very unlikely that the next disabled person you meet is in fact a pretender! Not only there are many 1000 real wheelchairdrivers on one wheelchairpretender, a pretender spends only a fraction of his time in the chair.
Why do you want to appear as disabled anyway?
Ahhh... The BIG question; we only wish we had a good answer!
Our discussions have revealed that for us it is NOT a matter of actually wanting to be disabled (wannabeism). Neither is it a means of getting attention (that is usually the last thing a pretender wants). It is more a deep desire to know and understand what it is like to have a disability. Reading about it is not enough, it has to be doing it for real. We realise that the insights gained are limited and slanted towards the more positive aspects of the disability. We do not wet our pants in public, we only pretend when we please, etc. But hey, it is a start!
From time to time most of us feel a pressure building up inside, that is relieved only by spending some time doing our favorite pretending.
Where can I find a wheelchair of my own?
This is no easy question to answer. In some countries you buy equipment, in some you get it free on prescription, etc. But unless you are really wealthy, a secondhand chair is your best option.
Depending on where you are, Europretend may be able to give more specific advice if you mail us, but our stock of wheelchairs for sale or loan is very limited.
What is it you do when you pretend?
This is very depending on how brave or how experienced the person is.
Most pretenders use their equipment alone at home. The somewhat more brave may go for a ”walk” outside. Sometimes this is done at night, and very often in a place where nobody will recognize you. A small number are going out in public, at first just to be present anonymously in a mall, but finally to live an active life while pretending. The later is VERY rare though.
The Europretend meetings offer a way to go out pretending together in a place well away from home.
Do we want to be handicapped?
No. There are ablebodied persons who want to be disabled, but these are no pretenders but they are called wannabes.
Sometimes the difference might not be clearly visible, if for instances a pretender practises permanent pretending or a wannabe pretends to come a little nearer towards his wish.
Lets explain this with an example from a more known group. If you compare us pretenders with crossdressers or transvestites who sometimes take the role of the other sex, then wannabes are transsexuals who want desperately and permanently live in the "other" body.
Are there gay pretenders?
Sure. As well as all other sexual preferences occur amongst us, Maybe the number of gays is even a little higher than in the general population, but we do not know and it does not interest us anyway.
Are there female pretenders?
Naturally. We now a lot of lady-pretenders, many of them quite active. Nevertheless there are more male than female pretenders in the scene. We do not know if there are really more male than female pretenders or if women simply have more problems with an internal Coming Out.
Are pretenders also devotees?
Some, yes, but not all.