It was gradual until adulthood as I never knew an entire community existed until college. Up until then my curiosity slowly evolved from that initial cartoon scene to being curious what it would feel like to wear black nylons to actually trying things out on myself to understand the experience.
Once I realized there was an entire community out there, I already had my own means as an adult… and so really dove in to explore. Thinking back, at the risk of sounding cliche, the motivation was as much the relief that I wasn’t alone with these interests as the physical payoff of it.