Fat fetishism

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Fat fetishism is a term used to describe the context in which fat (as a substance) and obesity are eroticized, and regarded as elements which affect the function of society and the progression of human rights.^[1]^[2] The sexual context has produced three interrelated activities which sustain erotic interest and psycho-sexual investment over a significant period of time. They include; Feederism, and Stuffing and Gaining.

1 Sexuality
2 Fat acceptance and sexuality
3 Feederism
4 Stuffing
5 Criticism
6 Terminology
7 References
8 See also

Sexuality

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

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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" archetypes become more visible or mainstream, fat will thus lose a major aspect of its general social and cultural stigma.

Feederism

Initially a term used within the gay community Feederism refers to the rituals in American "Fat Fetish" culture of feeding, encouraging the act of feeding, or being fed large quantities of food in order to achieve sexual pleasure from the act, or from the process of gaining weight, becoming fatter, and modifying the body. Several terms refer to the roles adopted within the culture; A feeder is an individual who feeds another person (feedee) to excess. A feedee may be characterized as an individual submissively gaining weight with the aid of a feeder. A gainer is similar to a feedee, but gainers generally seek to gain by their own hand- although they may welcome encouragement by an encourager. 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. 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.

Stuffing

Stuffing refers to the practice of simply feeding oneself or another person until the belly is bloated or distended. The 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. Producing 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 (see also maiesiophilia).

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Terminology

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
Chub - An overweight or obese Gay male.
Chub4Chub - An overweight or obese gay male attracted to other overweight/obese males.
Chaser - An average weight gay male attracted to overweight or obese males.
Gainer - A person of either sex who fantasizes about becoming fat or actually gains weight for his or her sexual pleasure.
Encourager - A person who derives pleasure from helping a gainer to grow fat or fatter.

References

^ Kathleen LeBesco. 2004. Revolting Bodies?: The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity. Univ of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1558494294.
^ Don Kulick and Anne Meneley. 2005. Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession. Jeremy P. Tarcher. ISBN 1585423866
^ Gibbs, W. Scientific American. (2005-06). Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic?. Retrieved on 2006-04-08.
^ NAAFA Policy. Fat Admirers. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.

Giovanelli, Dina and Natalie Peluso. 2006. "Feederism: a new sexual pleasure and subculture". Pp 309-314 in The Handbook of New Sexuality Studies. Edited by Steven Seidman. Oxford, UK: Routledge.