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Fat fetishism is sexual attraction to overweight or obese people due to their weight/size to the exclusion of other body types.[1][2]
A variety of fat fetishism is feederism or gaining, where sexual gratification is obtained not from the fat itself but from the process of gaining, or helping others gain, body fat. Fat fetishism also incorporates stuffing and padding, whereas the focus of arousal is on the sensations and properties of a real or simulated gain
Attraction
A 2009 study found that heterosexual male fat admirers preferred females that were clinically overweight and rated both overweight and obese women more positively than slighter individuals. The study also found that participants reacted positively to a much wider range of figures than a control group, even rating emaciated figures higher. It concludes "these findings suggest that an explanation for fat admiration may be that FAs are rejecting sociocultural norms of attractiveness".[5]
Gainers and feedees are people who enjoy the fantasy or reality of gaining weight themselves. Encouragers and feeders enjoy the fantasy of helping someone else gain weight. Gainer and encourager are common labels among gay men, while both straight men and women as well as lesbian women often identify as feeders and feedees.[6] Gainers and feedees have a wide array of personal weight-gain goals--only 10 percent of gainers and 13 percent of feedees express interest in immobility as a fantasy or reality.[7][8]
While gaining and feeding are often considered fetishes, many within the gainer and feederism communities report viewing them more as a lifestyle, identity or sexual orientation.[6] As a result, gainer and feederism communities online have formed tight connections, with many seeking out friendships and relationships with other self-identified gainers, encouragers, feeders and feedees.[9] In an analysis of profiles on one feederism website, more than two-thirds of single people indicated that they were seeking a relationship with someone who shared their interest.[10]
The gay gainer community grew out of the Girth & Mirth movement in the 70s. By 1988 there were gainer-specific newsletters and in 1992, the first gainer event, called EncourageCon, was held in New Hope, PA. In 1996, GainRWeb launched, the first website dedicated to gay men into weight gain, ushering in the internet era.