“Society’s relationship with food has not been purely for fuel for a number of years. Hence, the obesity epidemic. In this talk we will explore the increasing complicated role food holds in today’s society, from comforter, to body art and even as a sexual fetish, as seen by the growing popularity of feederism and feeder pornography” (Taylor 2013, p. s221).

Eating and the consumption of food are beginning to openly transgresses from the boundaries of  the animalistic instinct of survival to those of sexual gluttony and fetish. In our modern, western society, obesity is an ever prevalent problem, with larger percentages of the world’s population becoming overweight. Naturally, food creates and aids other food related disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, however it the conscious and deliberate weight gain for sexual pleasure and gratification for both the gainer, and those who encourage or enforce the feeding that constitutes the Feeder and Gainer fetish; feederism.

http://youtu.be/NfxFn1IqHo4?t=31m48s

Feeders and Gainers see the stomach as a sexual organ; the bigger and more movement it is capable of, the sexier and desirable it is. In “most cases, at least in heterosexual relationships, feeders or encouragers are men, and feedees or gainers are women” (Bestard in Prohaska, p. 104), and therefore can be seen as an advancement of sexual domination and submission, but this is furthered with the introduction of food permanently altering the appearance of the sexual partner, rather than simply during the act of sex itself.

Although championed and favoured by some, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance “believes that feederism is a behavior based on power on the part of the feeder only, and that this coercive relationship is demeaning to people of size” (Prohaska 2013, p. 104). However, in documentaries which are available online those in Feederism relationships seem outwardly happy and confident with their partner, and not all demeaned by their slimmer partner of their feeder. Although Feederism is slowly coming out of the shadows and becoming better known within wider society, it is still seen as a taboo (as are many sexual fetishes).

Those who judge the fetish from the outside often view it as ““an underground sexual practice that involves women who allow themselves to be force-fed through a funnel by a dominant male master, who derives sexual excitement from watching his submissive servant grow fatter as he forces her to eat more and more”” (Murray quoted in Prohaska 2013, p. 105), however, those who are are active within this underground community feel “the need to keep their behaviors a secret to family members and other significant people in their offline lives (Bestard in Prohaska 2013, p. 105). When these hidden relationships are broadcast for the whole of society to witness, they are often met by ridicule from those who don’t understand the sexual desires behind the fetish. Despite this, there is a large online community, which has a further reach than that of a private couple; where people can pay to speak to and see these Gainers on an intimate basis (source: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-big-fat-fetish/4od).

The use of food, being fed, and high calorie food played a heavy influence on our final experiment. Admittedly, we are not fully exploring the sexual fetish of Feederism; this is impossible for us, and any attempt of it would be a poor and disrespectful imitation – we are not sexually attracted to one another, and we do not hold food in the same sexual regard as those within the Feederism orientation. Instead, we are taking the frame of Gainers and Feeders to guide our experiment and help shape our relationships between our own established ‘feeders’ and ‘gainers’. The Gainers are pushed beyond their comfortable limits when being fed, and this is something which we wish to re-create.

Three people feeding, and three being fed. With no control over what goes into their mouth, or in what quantity.

Works Cited
Taylor, Valerie H. (2013) ‘Food Fetish: Society’s Complicated Relationship with Food’, Canadian Journal of Diabetes, XXXVII (2) April: p. s221.
Prohaska, Ariane (2013) ‘Feederism: Transgressive Behavior or Same Old Patriarchal Sex?’, International Journal of Social Science Studies, I (1) June, pp. 104-112)