I’ve always disliked fraternities, for obvious reasons. But now, I am genuinely terrified of them after learning about a practice called « hogging. »
Evidently, the practice is not anything new, and the term has been in Urban Dictionary for nearly two decades. According to the website, « hogging » is basically when groups of men compete to have sex with the « fattest » woman at a bar or party.
And apparently, in 2018, it happened at Cornell University. According to Slate, people reported the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity for having what they called a « pig roast, » where members of the house « competed to sleep with women they consider overweight. »
yes I’m just as appalled as you are. Everyone in the comments was too.
This is a thing that has finished happening at colleges across the country. Yet, why does it seem like nobody really knows that this exists? BuzzFeed spoke with Megan, a plus-sized fashion and body positivity activist, to learn more about the subject.
« Hogging is a practice of achieving masculinity, » Megan told BuzzFeed. « One of the ways men can do that, in their eyes, is by sleeping with the greatest number of people possible. They see fat women as easy targets. »
« My hope is that by having a conversation about hogging, more people will become aware of it and respond negatively to it happening. And so, hopefully it happens less frequently, » she added. « But more importantly, if and when it happens, I hope that people see, and become aware, and we can check each other. »
Upon reflecting on the reactions to her TikTok, Megan said that many men responded to her video saying things like « I’ve never heard of this happening, » and « I can’t believe that this happens. » However, she remains hopeful, because those same men went on to say things like « If I ever heard of this happening, I would shut it down. »
« When it comes to any form of violence surrounding sex and sexuality, one of the most important parts is men holding each other accountable, » she explained. « In order to get them to do that, they need to hear what it even is in the first place, and know that it’s a thing that exists and happens. »
