TAKE A LOOK AT THE DESCRIPTION; Gainers and feedees are people who enjoy the fantasy or reality of gaining weight themselves. Encouragers and feeders enjoy the fantasy of helping someone else gain weight. 'Gainer' and 'encourager' are common labels among gay men, while both straight men and women as well as lesbian women often identify as feeders and feedees. Some prefer the term feedism over feederism, because feederism suggests that the feeder is dominant and that the feede is the recipient of another person's wishes, whereas feedism suggests a more equal relationship between the feeder and feedee.
While gaining and feeding are often considered fetishes, many within the gainer and feederism communities report viewing them more as a lifestyle, identity or sexual orientation.