Fat fetishism

Fat fetishism is a sexual fetish in which sexual pleasure is derived from oneself or one's partner being overweight or obese. The preferred weight for a fat fetishist's partner ranges from being mildly overweight to being so obese that they are unable to walk. Feederism, Stuffing and Gaining are three main subtypes of fat fetishism.

Description
The homosexual and heterosexual communities tend to parallel each other. In a basic fat fetish relationship, one or both partners are overweight. Often, the thin partner takes a dominant role due to the other's reduced mobility.

The relationship dynamic becomes more complex if feederism is involved, where the goal is for one or more of the people involved to gain weight. Less frequently, people seek to achieve immobility due to that weight gain.

Fat fetishism may at times overlap with a breast fetish, a breast expansion fetish, and/or a pregnancy fetish.

The fondling of the adipose tissue of an overweight or obese person for one with a fat fetish is usually sexually arousing and is often similar to that of mammary intercourse. They may be aroused by the presence of a pannus or other hanging flaps of skin such as those on the thighs, arms, and back. Some people are aroused by the appearance of male breasts ("man boobs"), caused by the presence of fat under the chest, known as psuedogynecomastia.

Fat acceptance and sexuality
The issue of erotic weight gain has caused a collision, at least in a heterosexually-dominated realm, between the goals of fat acceptance (represented by NAAFA and others) and feederism, which some contend are not mutually exclusive interests/movements. One argument mobilized against the feeder movement is that sexuality is privileged over social movements toward fat acceptance, and direct criticisms usually entail the possibility that feederism contributes to a counter-productive objectification and dehumanization of the "feedee". Feeders/feedees and sympathetic FAs argue that most members of their community partake of this fetish only in the realm of fantasy and are more than mindful of rational boundaries. Also present is a belief that the sexualization of fat is not as pernicious as its detractors claim, and that if the "Fat Admirer" or "Chubby-Chaser (male)" archetypes become more visible or mainstream, fat will thus lose a major aspect of its general social and cultural stigma.

Feederism
Feederism is a sexual fetish (specifically a type of body alteration fetishism), centered on the practice of eating large amounts of food. The feeder provides the gainer with an abundant supply of food, either to encourage weight gain or simply for delight in the act of feeding. The feeder is typically more dominant, while the gainer is often more submissive, although this is not always the case. The fetish caters to those who have fantasies of growing fatter, or feeding another.

Feederism has come under scrutiny in the public due to films, news programming, and media attention on obesity and its effect on health. Within feederism communities, it is generally accepted that some adults engage in behaviors that are considered risky to health, such as smoking or extreme sports, and that this is another valid form of self-expression, however these activities do not carry the same stigma. Critics posit that one party or both may not realize they are in harmful relationships, as can happen with many forms of abuse. Gainers are at all the same risks that any other obese or overweight person is, such as heart disease and adult onset diabetes.

Several aspects of the fetish are discouraged by popular culture, as with any extreme form of body modification for sexual pleasure. Obesity and the desire to gain weight are less acceptable aspects in the first world, due to health concerns and beauty ideals.

Several online groups have popped up, with very specific tendencies. Yahoo and MySpace both offer a wide range of groups aimed at the feederism community, specializing in everything from young women to furry. Some associated fetishes might include body expansion, inflation, maiesiophilia, and vorarephilia.

Feeder/Gainer relationships
Feeder/Gainer relationships appear to be somewhat common in American "Fat Fetish" culture. The image of the "feeder" appears to be a common fantasy in the fat admirer (FA) community. Many FAs fantasize about taking part in a feeding relationship, but a lesser quantity truly attempt to realize this fantasy. The main difference between a feeder and a fat admirer is that feeders are more inclined towards appreciating weight gain, and sometimes inducing weight gain.

Feeder relationships are sometimes seen as pathological. However, this view is mainly only in reference to gainer relationships that develop to the point of immobility or health problems. Relationships leading to immobility are frequently discouraged by the mainstream fat acceptance community as unhealthy and fetishistic, or even misogynistic. Gaining / encouraging are not necessarily mutually exclusive, both individuals within the relationship may seek to gain weight offering mutual support.

Many feeders, who do not have a gainer or believe that actual feeding is dangerous and unhealthy are referred to as non-practicing feeders; they satisfy themselves by looking at weight-gain photos or reading weight-gain fiction. Advocates of feeding maintain that feeding relationships, if consensual, are perfectly healthy for both parties. Opponents of feederism claim that the causes behind feederism relate to issues of control, dependency and degradation.

In a heterosexual situation, the feeder helps or encourages the gainer to gain weight. The gainer is usually the woman since this sub-fetish is usually male dominated. In the homosexual situation, the encourager encourages the gainer to gain weight. In either situation, the goals and results are usually the same. Often there is a set goal weight. The act of reaching the goal is also itself a fetish, resulting in sex. Feederism also tends to center around the pleasure of food and consuming large amounts of it. There are some risks involved with excessive weight gain. These risks can be controlled by the gainer merely by keeping his/her weight within a safe value. However, most people are not willing to risk their lives and in such a case it is difficult to reach such a weight.

Gaining
Gaining, in the fat admiration subculture, is the practice of intentionally becoming fat or growing fatter. The term was initially associated with the gay community and has more recently been used to describe heterosexual relationships involving erotic weight gain. For some, gaining is an expression of fat fetishism. Others simply seek to grow fat because they consider it to be aesthetically pleasing and/or sexually arousing.

A gainer is someone who overeats with the specific intention of becoming overweight; or, if already overweight, gaining even more weight. This may be due to a love of food or an appreciation of the feel or appearance of being fat, often combined with a disregard for societal norms on body shape. Sometimes it is due to a love of general body size, and may be combined with muscle gain. Gainers may already be clinically overweight before they begin gaining, wishing to become even fatter. Other gainers may begin thin and gradually grow to be fat. Gaining is generally regarded as a sexually gratifying experience for those who practice it, although this may not always be the case.

The term gainer has connotations of power that the term feedee does not - it is generally associated with someone who is gaining weight because it makes them happy, rather than to please some outside force or to please a partner. A gainer is not by definition submissive or objectified, a common concern among feedees. Gainers may also be encouragers.

Gainers may set themselves goals, either in bodyweight or in size. Some gainers only wish to gain small amounts of weight so that they can go from being thin to being moderately fat. Others wish to gain tremendous amounts of bodyfat and become massively obese. Some gainers aspire to be fattened to the point of immobility, and some wish to gain weight to no limit. The idea of immobility is sometimes featured in the fantasies of some gainers, but it is unlikely that very many would actively pursue such a goal for a variety of lifestyle, medical and social reasons. Moreover, a gainer wishing to become immobile would require a full time partner to take care of all their daily needs, and the number of people willing to take on such a role is fairly small.

People who actually succeed in reaching weight goals of 500 lb (227 kg) or more appear to be uncommon, because of the associated impracticalities and health risks of becoming so fat. Many gainers curb their goals in the face of medical conditions that may be aggravated by obesity, such as diabetes. Contrariwise, unhealthiness is one of obesity's appeals for some gainers, and these gainers willingly embrace any health risks associated with their weight gain. Other gainers seek to be both fat and healthy.

Other members of the gaining community
The counterpart to a gainer, corresponding to a feeder in feederism, is an encourager, whose role, as the name indicates, is to encourage the gainer to reach their weight gain goals. This may or may not include acting as a feeder.

A maintainer is one sympathetic to the gaining community, who has intentionally or unintentionally put on weight and is happy to remain at that size, or is reluctant to gain more.

An appreciator is a fat admirer in the gaining community who is not interested in either gaining or encouraging, but is content to appreciate what progress has been made by other individuals.

Comparing gaining and feederism
A "gainer" is broadly similar to a feedee. However, while feedees may be characterized as submissively gaining weight with the aid of a feeder, gainers generally seek to gain by their own hand- although they may welcome the assistance of an encourager. Additionally, it is not uncommon for a gainer to view their weight-gaining as contributing to their physical dominance, rather than as an act of submission.

In some circles, the terms "gainer" and "encourager" may be viewed as homosexual terms, whereas "feeder" and "feedee" are viewed as their heterosexual synonyms. While this a common perception in the weight gain community, it is not a universal attitude, as many heterosexuals who are gaining weight of their own volition, without the aid of a feeder, generally characterize themselves as gainers rather than as feedees.

Feederism in popular culture
Although hampered somewhat by a negative attitude against it, erotic weight gain references and proponents have appeared in many forms of media. In the television show Roseanne, Roseanne Barr portrays what many consider to be the first example of a gainer appearing in a sitcom. Although never stating that the character she portrayed on the show was part of the feederism sub-culture, Barr's ex-husband Tom Arnold has made numerous mentions of his love of "feeding his wife". Television personality Rosie O'Donnell has been championed by both the gay and feederist community for her role in promoting not only gay affairs, but also raising awareness and acceptance of erotic weight gain. Feederism was also depicted in the horror film Feed (2005), which depicted with maximum grotesqueness a feeder-gainer relationship that was pathological.

Variations of feederism
The feeder/gainer subculture is quite varied and just as in any subculture there are different preferences and different tastes. For example many feeders only like weight gain ranging from slim to chubby while others prefer weight gain reaching up to obese and beyond. Different feeders are also known to favour different body parts just as in any other sexually oriented subculture. Some like large, fattened breasts while some prefer hips and buttocks, bellies, etc. While most prefer younger gainers they are in short supply compared to the vast amount of older gainers, which some favour.

Feederism should not be confused with stuffing although the feeder may sympathize with its cause. Stuffing is simply feeding someone until the belly is greatly distended with food, thus reaching an effect close to fattening. Feeders generally prefer the accumulation of fat in the body rather than the stuffing of food into the belly. Since stuffing has few long-term effects as opposed to gaining it is more common to actually practice stuffing.

Stuffing
Stuffing is a sexual fetish that is very much linked with the feederism fetish. The two can almost be said to go hand in hand. Both fetishes involve becoming sexually aroused by the consumption of large quantities of food. What sets stuffing apart is that its purpose is solely to achieve an extreme state of fullness, unlike in feederism, in which the express intention is of feeding a willing (or sometimes unwilling) subject over a period of time, and gaining weight from it.

Stuffing, on the other hand, is very short term and involves filling the stomach with as much food or drink as possible, making it distend and bloat to huge proportions. This can be part of feederism where the "feeder" wants to see some immediate belly bloating results and perhaps force feeds the subject. The actual act of stuffing the belly can be quite sexually stimulating to the subject. When the stomach swells in size it presses down on the sexual organs and in some people, this can produce an arousing stimulus. Since it can produce sexual gratification, this can be a solo act, thus feeding yourself as much as possible, filling and swelling your belly to get the required results. Getting a full belly can make an otherwise flat bellied person look pregnant. So to men, seeing their girlfriend, wife, or other willing subject (or vice versa, some women like to do this to their men) seeing an "illusion" of pregnancy can be quite stimulating to them.

Many with this fetish also have a great admiration of pregnant women's bellies, and may have a pregnancy fetish, known as maiesiophilia. This fetish seems to be fairly common, as evidenced by the numerous websites devoted to the subject.

Criticism
Fat fetishists are criticized for being attracted to partners who are unhealthy. Fat fetishists counter that such claims by medical experts are biased for various reasons, such as the influence of the diet industry, and further pointing to instances where the dangers of being overweight have been overstated. Generally, the argument is based in the fact that obesity related disease studies are correlational, rather than showing a direct causation between being overweight and increased rates of illness. Factors such as inactivity, increased trans-fat consumption, increased consumption of preservatives, food dyes, and other indigestible, inorganic substances are all confounding elements of current obesity/illness research. Because of society's willingness to link increased bodyweight and illness, many FAs feel societal pressure to hide their preference, and fat admiration communities have applied to them an adoption of the "closet" metaphor.

Terminology

 * Gainer - One who gains weight, generally associated with the gay male community
 * Encourager -One who encourages another (generally a gainer) to gain weight, also generally associated with the gay male community
 * BBW - Big Beautiful Woman
 * SSBBW - Super-Sized Big Beautiful Woman, typically much larger than a BBW and often limited in mobility
 * BHM - Big Handsome Male
 * SSBHM - Super-Sized Big Handsome Male, typically much larger than a BHM and often limited in mobility
 * FA - Fat Admirer, used both in a gender-neutral sense and to refer to male fat admirers
 * FFA - Female Fat Admirer