Strongerthanyou:
It's definitely a sign of submission in my eyes... Don't see how a round soft tire of around your waist can be perceived as powerful
Munchies:
It really depends. For some, being big means being powerful. They get to literally throw their weight around. Have you ever heard of squashing? It's a kink where someone bigger than you crushes you under their weight. You see it more on Dimensions than on FF.
Then you have dominant feedees with submissive feeders. The feeders wait on the feedee hand and foot while the feedee indulges as much as they want.
Hurgon:
Definitely.
It was often a sign of wealth too - access to more and better food, no need to do the physical labour, etc. I don't know whether this is still the case in some cultures and parts of the world. A lot of portraits from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries draw attention to the swell and straining buttons around the subject's paunch.
MrSlob1919:
And this was during the time when women wore corsets for the skinniest waist possible. What a time for contrast!
Except that's not true. Corsets are not girdles. They are undergarments. Yes, some corsets could reduce the waist size, but most people didn't use them in that way. Instead, a corset was pretty much an old-timey bra.
Instead, women would use things like strategically placed ruffles and poofy skirts to give themselves the illusion of having a specific body shape. Think big hips, a full bust, and a slim waist.
There's a YouTuber I like to watch sometimes called Bernadette Banner. She specializes in historical clothing and wears corsets on a day-to-day basis. I recommend looking at the videos below:
