There’s a small war brewing in the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect, and that war involves adults in diapers. TheChicago Tribune reports that residents are upset about a business called Tykables, which caters to the adult baby community. Not men’s rights activists, just people who like wearing diapers.
As the Tribune reports, Tykables is operating completely legally, getting a business license in April to open a brick-and-mortar shop after owner John Michael Williams started doing business online two years ago. But local residents grew perturbed after seeing a video of Williams doing a store walkthrough, in which he is clad in a diaper.
This is garden-variety NIMBYism: stated concerns from the few neighbors quoted in the piece are something about property values and nearby schools. Somewhat more reasonably, one business owner down the block says that until recently “oversized Lego-like blocks” were set up in the store’s front windows, making it look like it was a child-friendly business. Williams has recently set up opaque window coverings and says he plans to frost the windows permanently soon; the building is otherwise unmarked.
As Chicagoist notes, the store is open only by appointment, and that, well, Williams made sure the civic leaders of Mount Prospect knew what kind of business they were approving:
Williams said he stressed to the Village of Mount Prospect, before opening the store, that “there are a large portion of our customers who use our products for a sexual need or a sexual fetish.” Though there’s no legal reason minors couldn’t enter the store, Williams has chosen to adopt the same age cutoff that applies to sex toy sales at stores like Early to Bed.
Mount Prospect says they’ll “monitor” the business and possibly amend zoning codes so that “unique uses such as Tykables,” as the Tribune puts it, have to participate in a public hearing process before their licenses are approved.
Tykables seems to have a devoted following among the Chicago-area age play crowd; Williams says he plans to begin designing a line of jeans soon designed to fit diaper-wearers.
