PositiveFA:I’ve known about my feederism fetish since age 4. I have always wondered if it came more from Nature or Nuture. I had loving Mother who was overweight and didn’t diet, but that’s about it. It didn’t seem like enough for me to develop a full blown feederism fetish when it comes to external factors. It would be cool to know how fetishes like these form.
I love this topic, and I think the answer is, it varies from person to person. Some people are influenced by family lifestyle, others initially start eating as a trauma response or for comfort, and then there are those of us who just, well, love fat.
In my case, I'm a fat person in a thin to average sized family. I remember being very very small, before kindergarten, and loving cartoons where a character ate a lot or visibly ballooned up. I was also chubby by the time I was three or four, and I remember people commenting on my fat cheeks and pot belly. By first grade, my mother was pushing healthy snacks only, but my father was a little more lenient. Still, I wasn't exactly pigging out, because where would a 6-year-old get access to tons of extra food? Nevertheless, I started to get properly fat, and by 4th grade I could no longer fit in the school desks. I also remember the issue being raised at my pediatrician's office, and he just treated it as an issue of eating too much and playing too little.
I will add, I've always had a proclivity to being sedentary. Sports or physical activity didn't interest me. I liked to write, draw, and I loved movies. Not exactly burning a bunch of calories.
By 3rd and 4th grade, I started to stash household snacks in my bedroom, and that's when I really put on weight. I hit 200 before 8th grade, and in high school, I went up to 300 lb.
Interestingly, teasing as a fat kid didn't bother me. Classmates would comment that I tired out more quickly in PE, that I had a big tummy, or that I had gained weight over the summer. I knew all of those things were true, so I didn't really perceive the teasing as an insult. I think the fact that I didn't react negatively meant I didn't get teased a whole lot. There was no payoff to anyone who wanted to make fun of me.
In high school, I also started exploring the internet. I lurked on this site as a guest before I was old enough to join. I looked at pictures, read A LOT of fiction, and usually stuffed my belly while I was doing it. I also got a part time job, meaning I had money to satisfy my appetite. Then there was college, when I could eat whatever I wanted, when I wanted. This was when I decided I would one day become not just fat, but super obese. It's also when I had my first real feedee experience.
I said all this to say, there was nothing about my upbringing that would have overtly encouraged this lifestyle. My interests also predated the knowledge there could be anything sexual about eating and gaining. I'd definitely have to say it's nature for me.