General

Here's an article I wrote on the subject.


Why is there Feedism?
An Evolutionary Explanation

In "The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies"? Jared Diamond describes some traditional societies-- they don't call them "primitive" anymore--that have periodic food shortages. The people gorge themselves in times of plenty to gain weight to get them through lean times. In such places Feedism would be adaptive and be selected for.

Of course, in many societies (including modern ones) they figured out ways to store food so they didn't have to do the gorging thing. Storing food in a granary or whatever is usually much more practical than storing it as fat on your body. So genetically I figure we're a mixed bag. We have ancestors from both kinds of societies. So some of us have Feedist tendencies, some don't.

I imagine those tendencies will dwindle over the coming millennia since gorging and gaining is no longer adaptive. But we won't be around by then anyway!

First off, I don’t consider it a kink. Kink, to me, indicates a preference or habit or practice that is temporary (in the sense of choosing a time to engage in it) and has a sexual connotation and exists (to degrees) outside of social norms.
Now, being fat, enjoying fat in others and self and overeating or over feeding a partner can have some of these elements. However, the enjoyment of food, eating, being fat and getting fatter does not have to be exclusively sexual. It can be completely, partially or not at all sexual. More importantly, it normally is a lifestyle rather than an occasional activity that can be turned on and off like a kink. I or my partner are fat 24/7, 365, not just on Saturdays from 9 to 11 pm. Your or your partner’s eating habits also are more consistent and constant (more or less). I personally overeat every day without actively thinking about it. I also eat a lot of fast food, most of the time because I like the taste and it is convenient.
Biologically and historically (from an evolutionary point of view) as hunter/gatherers we are inclined to gorge during times of plenty and we also are attracted to foods that are calorie dense. Because we are individuals, this applies to some more than others and people just have their individual preference. To vilify certain preferences, make them less than or label them as deviant is purely cultural.
We live in a society where fattening food is readily available which explains why a large percentage of the population is overweight or obese. The fact that many of these people are low-grade unhappy about it, is cultural/societal. To label the love of fat, food and feeding a kink is also cultural/societal. By this logic being into fitness, “healthy” eating and preferring a slim partner or physique should also be considered a kink. It is not, simply because of cultural norms.

The only reason why genetic arguments in my view hold any credence is the fact that this sexuality develops in childhood in many.

I think it’s more likely that people who develop these feeling sexually associated fat with pleasure earlier on, and is not in fact passed down genetically, I think certainly cultures engage in fattening rituals but these are survival methods not sexual, imo.

I believe that feedism is the ultimate expression of hedonism, and both feeders and feedees get off on the hyper-sensuality

What do you call it?

Not sure how Doug thinks of it but I think of it like a lifestyle of abundance and indulgence.

Morbidly A Beast:
Not sure how Doug thinks of it but I think of it like a lifestyle of abundance and indulgence.[/quote]

I wouldn't call it that. It may be part of a lifestyle, but to limit it to that omits the weight-gain and sexual aspects, which I regard as critical components of feedism.

I too see it as a lifestyle of abundance and indulgence! For me, although sexuality is a part of it, it’s so much more. It’s the whole lifestyle package. I am only sexual for limited periods of a day, week etc. but I am always fat, always enjoying eating. I can encourage someone to eat and get fatter without having sexual or romantic feelings about that person.

As long as you agree that sexuality is part of it I don't have a problem.

But you haven't answered my question. If feedism--at least the sexual part of it--isn't a kink, what is it? A paraphilia? A deviant tendency? A perversion? A sexual preference?

The sexual element is just a sexual preference for me. Same as most other consentual sexual practices.