“ Hey b. w.,First of all, do not worry as your e-mail did not offend me one bit. On the contrary, I appreciate your curiosity about this. I will not answer your questions as if they were part of some sort of amateur-ethnographic research. Instead, at the risk of coming off as a dork myself (and a boner-shrinker) I will just explain a few of the reasons why the blog that I've created is significant to me.  In terms of "gainer culture" I am unsure where I locate myself, that is, I am merely someone who had a body that was considered "hot" and now has a body that is considered "not (as) hot" by our society's arbitrary and misinformed standards of beauty. Some guys who participate in this blog might say this is a hypocritical and somewhat dishonest thing to say, since I clearly get a lot of pleasure out of having a bigger, fuller body. However, this pleasure comes not from a desire to be something that I am not, but an enjoyment of what I am (literally- such as rubbing my dick against my belly). I also happen to be an unapologetic narcissist and an exhibitionist which allowed me to collect all these images over time (proof of how our bodies change) and place them in a pseudo-narrative of weight gain. And this narrative that I've generated serves two purposes: first (and foremost) to get me off, and second, to force us to question our ideas of what we consider "hot" and "ugly" (regardless of what turns you on or not). I don't plan to change anything, I just want to fuck with the ideals that we hold on to and shoot a nice load in the process.I like how gainer culture turns typical beauty standards upside down as it forces us to question what we think of as "natural ideas of beauty and health". As I grew up with these ideals and eventually was able to have the body that I thought I always wanted, I realized that it didn't make me as happy as I thought it would (I felt like I was holding on to it for someone else). So instead, I decided to focus on exercise as a way to make me feel good (instead to "make me look like society would want me to look"). It sounds cheesy, but I believe that accepting oneself to the point of getting rid of many insecurities is part of being mentally healthy (much healthier than having a flat stomach, and that's an understatement).As for the unique nature of the blog (tease | bully | praise | worship), the dynamic that is generated here through people's active participation gives me a lot of pleasure (both sexual and intellectual-- not that these are separate). It interests me and amuses me that it shocks or confuses most people. On the one hand, I feel like I am self confident enough to take pleasure on what a lot of people fear the most: being bullied or teased because of the way one looks. On the other hand (and on a larger level), I believe that by welcoming and asking for insults, the blog takes the power away from them as it repurposes them for sexual pleasure when normally they are supposed to be an expression of social power and dominance: a way to control others and to put them down (to destroy people's self esteem).I can tell you that your instincts are right in that calling this a "fat fetish" is not the best term. Not because it might offend people (it certainly doesn't offend me) but because culturally speaking, the term fetish, relegates a source of pleasure not only to a minority practice (nothing wrong with that) but most importantly, it takes away the implications of that sexual activity (fetish) for the entire society out of which that minority is from.Ideas of what is "beautiful" are ideologically charged. That is, these are influenced by a particular society's beliefs in a whole range of subjects. The idea of the "hot jock" necessitates its counterpart, the "fat ass" or the "skinny wimp/dork/nerd", just as "good" needs "evil" in order for the binary to be powerful and relevant. I don't want to get any deeper into this but I must say that these binaries (e.g.: fat vs. thin, jocks vs. dorks) not only serve as a source of inspiration for popular fiction (I'm sure you can think of many books, movies and TV shows) but also affect people's experiences of growing up (many people have issues with weight, skinny or fat). Coming back to your inquiry, I think you pretty much know the answers to all the questions that you asked, and I invite you to take a guess, you might find the process of imagining the answers pleasurable. -xJock”