What is a giantess kink? Euphoria’s latest fetish explained

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What is a giantess kink? Euphoria’s latest fetish explained

This article contains spoilers for season three of Euphoria.

DISCLAIMER: Always get consent when trying something new. If you’re concerned about your safety or need advice on sex and sexuality, speak with a sexual health professional or counsellor or contact Brook for anonymous support.

Another episode of Euphoria season three, another new kink to explore. In episode five, it’s Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) getting so popular on OnlyFans that she grows and grows and grows into a literal giant. As she stomps the streets of LA, terrorising is citizens with her enormity, a police helicopter attempts to intercept her, demanding, “Big lady, get on your knees”, only to be knocked out of the sky by a flick of Cassie’s ponytail. The absurd scene ends with — what else?! — larger-than-life Cassie’s supersized boobs breaking through an office window, as one of her fans (a guy called Frank) licks her nipples.

Although a fantastical depiction, this is macrophilia — AKA a giantess kink. We see the actual (normal sized) Cassie acting the kink out in a video sent to Frank. In the clip, she’s holding a figurine of a man, telling him, “You’re so small, I could fit you in my pocket. I wonder where else I could fit you?”, as he, ofc, wanks while watching it.

Whether you’d heard of it or not before Euphoria, there are hundreds of millions of videos under the #Giantess and #GiantWoman hashtags on TikTok. If you scroll through this niche but flourishing corner of the internet, you’ll find these vids mostly consist of women and femmes using camera angles to seem enormous — think Taylor Swift’s “Monster on the Hill” alter-ego in the “Anti-Hero” music video. While the content varies, the ones that hit the hardest tend to showcase women stepping on the camera. Is it a sex thing? Not explicitly, perhaps, but it definitely has a suggestive feel.

In Euphoria, though, it certainly is. And when it comes to the actually explicit sex stuff IRL, there’s another goldmine of larger-than-life content to uncover over on the NSFW side of the internet. On Pornhub, you’ll find over 6,000 videos for the search term ‘giantess’, and leading kink content site Clips4Sale even named it the Fetish of the Year for 2024. According to the platform, ‘giantess’ was the site’s number-one most searched fetish globally in 2024 and its third highest-earning category, with sales up 36% that year. So yeah, clearly some people are very into the idea of a giant woman — Sydney Sweeney or not — stepping on them, crushing them, and dominating them.

“Macrophilia is a term describing sexual fantasies related to giant persons, whether male (giant) or female (giantess),” says sociologist Sarah Melancon, a clinical sexologist and lead researcher at Womens-Health.com. While this kink may be news to you, “if we consider how often giant and giantess-type stories appear in our culture, it isn’t surprising that some people find these themes erotic,” says Melancon.

For reference, see: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Alice in Wonderland, The BFG, The Iron Giant, and, ofc, The Princess Bride. And if it appears in pop culture, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s going to give some people the horn. Mistress Kye, a professional kinkster and BDSM expert, says she’s seen a big increase in requests for macrophilia-related play from clients in her work as a femdom, citing giant/giantess fantasies among a number of niche kinks that have started to garner more attention and interest in recent years.

So while it makes sense that some people might be into giant/giantess play and fantasies — if you can think it, someone’s probably horny for it —the real question is, uh, why? Lucky for you, we have answers. Here’s everything to know about macrophilia.

What is a giantess fetish and why are people into it?

As is true of literally all kinks and fetishes, the reasons why giant-sex stuff might turn someone on are varied and subjective. What can we say? Humans are really out here being complex and nuanced individuals with the capacity to cultivate a rich erotic imagination. (Love that for us.) That said, there are some common reasons folks who are into macrophilia might be drawn to this kink.

Psychologist Justin Lehmiller’s study of over 4,175 Americans about their sexual fantasies (documented in his book, Tell Me What You Want), found that one in three people expressed a sexual interest in mythical creatures of various kinds. In interviews, subjects frequently reported a connection to domination and submission as a subplot in these fantasies. This tracks with macrophilia porn — the person viewing or fantasising often wishes to be dominated by a giantess or giant (duh).

“It centres around the erotic feeling of being ‘helpless’ as the giantess dominates those beneath her, forcing them into sexual slavery or crushing them with her strength,” says Pam Shaffer, a marriage and family therapist.

Celina Criss, a certified sex coach specialising in BDSM and relationship diversity, says that people who are into macrophilia often fantasise about “being used sexually, eaten, engulfed, or crushed by giants or giantesses”.

In addition to the D/s dynamic, kink educator Emerson Karsh notes that “macrophilia may tap into the sexual interests of terror, the unknown, or pain”.

Eddy Chen//HBO

What does macrophilia look like in practice?

Shaffer says the most common macrophilia fantasies tend to centre around “a powerful giantess wielding their power and beauty to crush anything or anyone in their way”. (This is pretty consistent with what you’ll find in those 6,000 Pornhub videos, JFYI.)

While anyone of any gender can be into macrophilia (and fantasies can include giants of all genders), Melancon says it seems to be more common in men, at least anecdotally. (Perhaps, uh, unsurprisingly, there aren’t a tonne of scientific studies being done on why people get off to the idea of a giantess stepping on their necks.)

But what about the girlies and AFAB folks? Well, when women and femmes fantasise about themselves being really tiny, it’s often referred to as a ‘Thumbelina’ fantasy. This can be related to macrophilia, but the turn-on can also be entirely focused on being small, rather than on the partner necessarily being a giant or giantess.

That said, macrophilia fantasies will obvs vary from person to person and can take on many different forms.

How does a giantess fantasy relate to wanting to be crushed?

Okay, so this is where things get a wee bit complicated: macrophilia may have an element that involves being crushed, but not always. Conversely, you can have a crush fetish without having a thing for giantesses or giants.

So, how do crush fetishes play out within macrophilia? Once again, it all comes back to the D/s dynamic. “Being crushed totally goes along with this kink,” says Criss. “People playing with macrophilia often enjoy being sat on or crushed, being ‘forced’ to give oral sex to a partner sitting on their face, or being stepped/walked on.”

“Both have to do with displays of erotic power and feeling like you have no choice but to submit,” Shaffer adds.

TL;DR: giants and giantesses are (at least in fantasy) freakin’ huge and part of the play will often involve getting stepped on and/or crushed by the giant or giantess. So, yeah, these two kinks tend to work well together.

All of this is, of course, done with the explicit consent of all parties involved — any ‘forced’ sexual activity is roleplay that’s agreed upon beforehand, and safe words must be established to end any sexual activity at any point.

HBO/Warner Bros.

So you’ve got the horn for giants. How can you talk to your partner about it?

Talking to your partner about a kink, especially a niche one, can be scary. “Many who enjoy kinks like giant/giantess fantasies feel a lot of shame and embarrassment, as it certainly doesn’t fall within our ‘normal’ boundaries of sex,” Melancon says. You might be worried you’re going to be shamed or told you’re weird for enjoying macrophilia, but take it from us: it’s totally fine and normal to be into whatever it is you’re into.

As with all kink (and all sex, for that matter), the best way to share your desires with a partner is — stop us if you’ve heard this one before — open and honest communication. Introduce the convo in a chill, low-pressure environment, and ask your partner about their fantasies too.

Criss says it can be helpful to figure out where your desires may have overlap. “Find ways and opportunities to share play incorporating these [overlaps],” she says. “Know your limits and respect each other.”

Keep in mind that giantess sex really might not be your partner’s bag and that’s okay, too. Not everything works for everyone. If this is the case, try exploring ways you can engage with this kink on your own — whether that be through porn, fantasy, or even exploring with other kinksters who share your same desires (with your partner’s consent, of course).

How to make your giantess fantasy come to life

Obviously you’re never going to bang a real giant (sorry). But! Here are some fun, expert-approved ideas to breathe life into this kink. All of these can be done IRL or simply live in your fantasies — whatever works for you.

Dirty talk about giant or giantess themes during sex. This can incorporate the fantasy into your sex life without involving a whole lot of work (which can be especially helpful if your partner isn’t that keen on role-playing a giant or giantess).

In order to create the illusion of giantess fantasy, the ‘small’ partner can lay on the ground while the ‘giant’ or ‘giantess’ towers above, mirroring the camera angles from the TikTok #Giantess videos.

Try watching your partner crush things while they tell you how they would do the same to you.

Explore online erotica and porn centred on giantess/giant fantasy (and bring your partner in to watch with you, if they’re down).

Gigi Engle is a COSRT-registered, GSRD-accredited sex and relationships psychotherapist, sex coach, sex educator, and writer.

Brit Dawson is Cosmopolitan UK’s Sex & Relationships Editor. Her work mostly delves into sexual subcultures, sex work, women’s rights, and sex and relationships, exploring how each intersects with technology, politics, and culture. Formerly a staff writer at Dazed and MEL Magazine, she’s written for British GQ, The Face, Slate, and more. She’s also interested in drugs, youth and pop culture, and books — so all the good stuff. Find Brit on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.