Letters And Numbers:
I'm not sure that those are the most accurate/scientific comparisons. The sites seem to have different cultures which could sway the way people use them. Interesting though?
Is there a reason you chose that "chubby with a belly" category instead of something bigger like the OP was talking about? He asked about obese men.
Munchies:
This data is less about different genders that like chubby people with a belly than it is about women who are comfortable enough to admit it on the platform they are on.
Basically, it's apples and oranges.
It also doesn't take into account plus-sized body types like chubby without a belly, morbidly obese, strong fat etc., etc.
It would be interesting to see a robust demographic study on the online feedist community. Unfortunately, despite all the attempts I've seen to make such a thing, the engagement has been piss-poor.
Malvineous:
No, it's not totally scientifically accurate. It's also impossible to get data like that. However, I don't think that on its own completely invalidates the results, this is a lot better and more accurate than merely speculating based on anecdotes. Just take it with a grain of salt. The way I see it is that it gets closer to the truth than we can get without it, but it doesn't fully arrive.
If you're not on Feabie, here's how it works. When you create a profile, one of the fields is "body types I like". There are several options and you can check multiple. The options are thin, average, toned muscle, thick/curvy, slightly chubby, chubby with a belly, pear-shaped chubby, chubby all over, and super chubby. Basically, chubby is their lingo for fat. The vast majority of women's profiles I've seen have filled out this field because it helps with filtering. When doing a profile search, you can select "only members who like my body type". That is unfortunately the only option related to this. I actually can't search multiple body types at once, or even body types that aren't mine. It just so happens that "chubby with a belly" is the one I selected for myself when creating my profile. This search is the best I can do with the tools that are available.
Fair enough.
That said, if we engage with your study as is, we have to ask if the percentage difference on Feabie and Grommr is negigible or not. 40% and 47% are very close. You did not control for a great number of variables, so is it safe to assume they are about the same?
I think they are, but that's my assumption.
We could say the true problem is there aren't as many self-indentified women in male dominated fetish spaces. After all, your datasets imply that to be the case.
Enough people in this thread discusses why that is enough already.