Gaining and feeding

Gaining and feeding are paraphilias centered on gaining weight. The term gaining is more common among gay men while feeding is more common among straight men and women and gay women.

Both gaining and feeding are considered subsets of fat fetishism.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

The gay gainer community grew out of the Girth & Mirth movement in the 70s. By 1988 there were gainer-specific newsletters, the most influential was Encouragement, which published until April, 1996. 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, followed shortly thereafter by Bellybuilders, ushering in the internet era for the gainer community.

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